Remote control of the Joliet drawbridges, a project in the works since at least 2014, began last week, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman said Tuesday.

IDOT has given mixed signals on the start of remote control of the bridges, saying at one point that it would be in late January, and then later that it had been pushed back to the spring.

But remote operation of the bridges is now taking place at least on a test basis, IDOT spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said Tuesday.

“This is going to take some time, I’m told, before they work out all the kinks,” Castaneda said, explaining why the start time for remote operation has not been exact.

“Last week, they started doing the testing,” she said. “They’re going remotely.”

Bridge tenders remain in place at the Jefferson, Jackson and McDonough street bridges to continue operating the bridges as needed during the remote testing period, Castaneda said.

The implementation of remote bridge control is taking place at only three of the six Joliet-area drawbridges.

Two of the bridges, at Cass Street and Brandon Road, are shut down for repairs and will be ready for remote control after that work is done. A third, Ruby Street, was scheduled for final outfitting for remote operation in early 2027 before it was shut down Sunday because of an electrical problem.

Remote control basically means operators at a central location will lift and lower the bridges as barges pass along the Des Plaines River, a process that has been under the control of tenders at the bridges since they were built in the 1930s.

IDOT has been equipping the bridges for remote operation for several years.

State transportation officials held an open house in December 2014 in Joliet to publicly present their plan to convert to remote operation.

The remote operation headquarters is at the IDOT bridge house located on the west end of the Jackson Street bridge. The plan is for operators there to eventually control all the bridges without tenders at the bridge locations.