The Illinois Department of Transportation hosted an open house in Hardin last Thursday about what to do with the Joe Page Bridge.
According to the Calhoun News Herald, several area elected officials and representatives from stakeholder groups as well as concerned citizens attended the meeting.
IDOT is currently conducting a study on the bridge. The southernmost bridge on the Illinois River was built in 1930 and is currently one of only a small number of ways to exit Calhoun County. The bridge carries Illinois Routes 16 and 100 over the river from Calhoun into the southernmost portion of Greene County.
The last major structural rehabilitation to the bridge occurred in 2003. According to IDOT, the over 90 year old bridge is now structurally deficient and has cost the state over $2 million in the last 3 years to maintain. The bridge is also said to not meet current design and safety standards. Among those deficiencies is the vertical clearance limits traffic for agricultural vehicles, the lift span operations delays traffic, and IDOT is currently having trouble securing replacement parts in case of a mechanical failure.
According to IDOT statistics, approximately 2,500 vehicles cross over the Joe Page each day with over 15% of those being heavy commercial and multi-unit commercial vehicles.
The first phase of the project is doing preliminary engineering and environmental studies over the next 3-4 years in the hopes that the construction of either a new structure or complete rehabilitation of the bridge occurs happening within the next 6 years.
To comment on the project or inquire further about how to be involved in the current studies, visit joepagebridge.com or send correspondence to Annie Prothro at IDOT’s Collinsville offices or email her at Annie.Prothro.illinois.gov.