April 26, 2024
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No meeting yet between Kendall County, construction firm on Millbrook bridge collapse

Officials said three months ago they would dispute “D” Construction’s invoice for their handling of the demolition of the historic bridge

By Lucas Robinson

FILE PHOTO: Contractors continue demolition work for the Millbrook Bridge on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020 in the Shuh Shuh Gah Canoe Launch near Newark. (Katie Finlon)

Kendall County officials have still not met with the construction firm who oversaw the collapse of the old Milbrook Bridge last August despite board members vows to dispute billing over the incident.

Three months have passed since county officials said they would meet with Coal City-based firm “D” Construction over the unplanned collapse of the historic Millbrook bridge the construction company was hired to demolish. County Board Vice Chairman Matt Kellogg has said the construction company placed heavy machinery on the bridge ten times the maximum weight recommended by an engineering report.

Despite the incident, “D” Construction still invoiced the county the original $285,000 agreed upon for the proper demolition of the bridge, including an extra $7,352 to repair a pier damaged during the bridge’s emergency demolition.

“The bill remains unpaid and we have not met with representatives at this time,” Dave Guritz, president of the Kendall County Forest Preserve District, said at a meeting Wednesday, April 7.

Guritz added the construction firm was not resisting a meeting with county officials, saying the firm didn’t yet have the time to schedule a meeting. The forest preserve’s top official said he would reach out this week.

While working on the bridge last Aug. 25, the bridge began to collapse and the contractor decided to do an emergency demolition on the spot. Hampton Lenzini & Renwick Inc (HLR), the county’s engineering contractor, was not on site at the time of the demolition. In the end, the historic bridge that spanned the Fox River near Millbrook met a haphazard demise, with about 15 pieces recovered down-river in the days following the demolition.

“Somebody’s at fault for this,” Kellogg said at a forest preserve district committee of the whole meeting Tuesday. Jan. 12. “There shouldn’t have been the machine on the bridge...that $285,000 number is just ridiculous.”

“D” Construction officials have not yet responded to a Record Newspapers request for comment.