Written by Bob Balgemann
After many weeks of discussions, Spring Township Supervisor Ryan Kufalk said, Monday, the township board was working on a long-term maintenance agreement for the bridge. That’s being done to keep the Tollway from tearing out the bridge and not replacing it, as was originally proposed.
“This seems to be a fair deal for them and for us,” he said. “It will cost them some money and us some money.”
Once the Genoa Road bridge is replaced, work will begin to take out the Johnson Road structure.
Kufalk said Genoa Road should be “up and running’ in December. That means taking out the Johnson Road bridge in the spring and replacing it by next summer. Work could begin sooner, he said, if there’s a mild winter.
He said he hoped the new bridge would be built of the same quality as the one to be taken out, which required minimal maintenance since being built about 50 years ago.
The Tollway’s general engineering consultant prepared the following cost estimates that the township would have to assume in the future:
- Year 20 – minor deck repairs. $20,000.
- Year 40 – moderate deck repairs, $50,000.
- Year 50 – moderate deck repairs, $50,000.
- Year 60 – reconstruction of the deck, $850,000
Click on the following for more details: Illinois Tollway agrees to spare Johnson Road bridge over I-90 | Belvidere Daily Republican
