The Hillcrest Village Board held a discussion April 8 regarding the currently closed Hemstock Road bridge, which is owned by the village.
The bridge was closed by the Illinois Department of Transportation in mid-October. In July, Ogle County inspected the bridge and found that its load rating declined sharply from a 7 to a 4.
After seeing those numbers, IDOT inspected the bridge in October and determined steel piles that support it had deteriorated and that it should be closed. Baxter & Woodman inspected the bridge Nov. 6 and found that all eight steel piles are corroded, with two severely corroded and no longer supporting the bridge.
A short-term repair of the bridge to reopen it by this summer or sooner is estimated to cost a total of $100,000. That project would need permission from IDOT and would be a temporary fix that could last five years. Corroded parts of the two failing steel piles would be removed and then encased in concrete.
Hillcrest officials have directed Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright of Baxter & Woodman to bring a proposal for a short-term repair, but no action was taken Wednesday.
Baxter & Woodman Lead Structural Engineer Brandon Buzzell said Wednesday that the short-term repair of the 50-year-old, 35-foot bridge would take about 6-8 weeks to complete and open after the board approves it due to contractor lead time and approval by IDOT and the county.
The bridge will require a long-term, full-scale replacement. Last month, Wright presented two potential options for that. The first would involve 80% federal funding for construction, with Hillcrest paying $600,000 total for the remaining 20% of construction and all of the engineering costs. The village would fund the entire project before being reimbursed. That project wouldn’t take place until 2028 or 2029 due to the federal funding system.
The second option Wright presented for full replacement would be the village funding the project itself for a cost of $900,000 and the work being done by 2027. No vote was held Wednesday on long-term options for the bridge.
The village is paying $3,500 a month for signage rental while the bridge is closed.
Trustees
Wednesday’s meeting saw no votes due to the board not having enough trustees present for a quorum. A special meeting was set for Tuesday, April 14, at 7 p.m. at village hall.
Present Wednesday were Village President Pro Tempore Dan Potter and Trustees William Peska and Patricia Garcia. Trustees Pamela Pittman and James Wiley were absent.
Last month, Village President Rick Rhoads resigned from his position after serving since 2023. The board voted unanimously to appoint Potter to serve as president pro tempore until the next election in November. Potter chose to retain his trustee position and voting privileges rather than to vacate them to serve as president.
Last month’s meeting was also the last for Trustee Eileen Braski, who resigned her seat due to moving out of the area.
Water lines
Potter said during the meeting that an updated inventory for a state-mandated water service line inventory project will be sent to Wright for submission to the state by April 15.
Over the past 2.5 years, the village has been required to check to see if water lines running into homes were made of lead or galvanized pipe for future replacement. A draft inventory and replacement plan is required for state submission by April 15. A final inventory and replacement plan is due by April 15, 2027. If the makeup of water lines is not found by the 2027 deadline, replacement will be required.
Wright said last month that the village still has 60 unknowns remaining. No lead has been found in Hillcrest thus far and none is expected to be found, Wright said.