The Hillcrest Village Board voted April 14 to move forward with a short-term repair of 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 that steel piles that support it had deteriorated and that it should be closed. Baxter & Woodman, the village’s engineering firm, inspected the bridge on Nov. 6 and found that all eight steel piles are corroded with two severely corroded and no longer supporting the bridge.
The short-term repair of the bridge to reopen it in the coming months is estimated to cost a total of $100,000. The project will need permission from IDOT and will be a temporary fix that could last five years. Corroded parts of the two failing steel piles will be removed and then encased in concrete.
“I think we need to do the repair as soon as possible,” Village President Pro Tempore and Trustee Dan Potter said. “Because government funding for a full replacement won’t be seen until 2028 and we can’t have it closed for that long. Let’s make the repairs and go on with the process of replacing it.”
As part of its vote Tuesday, the board waived competitive bidding requirements for the short-term repair and will be seeking a contractor for a “design-build” process.
Baxter & Woodman Lead Structural Engineer Brandon Buzzell said April 8 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.
Potter said the repair would include a three-year warranty and the 6-8 week timeline is the “best-case scenario” due to the time it will take for a contractor to start the work amid the startup of the construction season.
The bridge will require a long-term, full-scale replacement. Last month, Village Engineer Kaitlin 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 cost. The village would fund the entirety of the 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.
As part of Tuesday’s vote, the board will be moving forward with the federal funding option.
The village is paying $3,500 a month for signage rental while the bridge is closed.
Meeting change
Tuesday’s meeting was held after the village’s regularly-scheduled April 8 meeting did not have enough trustees present for a quorum.
Present Tuesday were Potter and Trustees William Peska, James Wiley and Patricia Garcia. Trustee Pamela Pittman was 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.