Hide Article Text (OCR)
State may leave Southwest highway bridge open(Continued from Page 1 tember as part of more than $6 million in improvements to the highway between Oak Lawn and Orland Park The bridge s deck urgently needs to be replaced, and its piers renovated, Lee said But before the evening was over, the I DOT official hinted that the entire bridge structure may need to be replaced at an estimated cost of about $2 2 million Our experience with old bridges is the steel we can't see is usually worse than the steel we can see, Thaddeus Ashwill, a consulting engineer to the project, forewarned the groupEVEN CURRENT plans to renovatelevn//*/•/» e/the bridge have a projected lifespan of only 40 or 50 years, according to Let*If the bridge were to remain open, it would only have one lane for both directions of traffic A stop light would be used to regulate traffic, Lee said.But even that possibility looked slim as the 1DOT officials presented a drawing board with seven reasons for closing the bridge including:• Shorter construction time• Savings in construction costs.• Safety to traveling public and work menThe merchants and residents protested the bridge closing as disasterous to local business and emergency ambulance traf-/..fffie to Palos Community hospital But al ternatives ranging trom building temporary lanes adjacent to the existing bridge to building a separate but temporary bridge were dismissed by the IDOT officials as too expensive or impracticalThe cost of keeping one lane open on the bridge would cost the state an extra $100,000, while a temporary bridge would add $500,000 to total project costs. Lee estimatedKEEPING THE bridge open even with one lane would make construction impos sible, according to Ashwill He pointed out cement would not settle properly if cars were constantly passing, causing the structure to vibrate“You have said the cost of closing the bridge would be about $100,000, but the expense to the businesses here would also be substantial,’’ Palos Heights architect Richard Bailey pointed out Bailey is designing a car wash to be built along Southwest highway just south of the bridge And we do have the hospital involved. not to mention a new shopping center in Orland Park ”Business volume along the Southwest highway next to the bridge was estimated by one businessman to gross $7 $H million in a vcarI KNOW our closing the bridge will have an impact on you and other businessmen But we do have our limits,” Lee repliedDr John Kalchbrenner. of the Worth, Animal hospital, pointed out closing thebridge has the potential for destroying the entire business area A lengthy construction project on Harlem avenue has turned many customers away from the area never to return, he said.There’s a lot of tax money here that’s going into building that bridge, but now the state is going to lose a lot of money if these businesses go bankrupt, he said Instead of doing something that’s going to bankrupt businesses, I think it would behoove the state to do something else that would be better for both the residents and the businesses ”I^ocal business lost 40 to 50 per cent of their customers when the bridge was closed for temporary repairs one week in March, another merchant said saidLee said he had no control over otherconstruction projects, one of which will reduce traffic along Harlem avenue at tilth street to one lane in each direction at the same time as the bridge repairs. He admitted he could not even guarantee the bridge will be closed only six months as previously announced.•Based on what I have heard here tonight and the phone calls and letters that have come into our office since this proj ect began. I’m going to have to recom mend that the bridge stay open to my superiors” Lee told a cheering audience He said the decision would be made within a month and advised the area to continue its pressure.People usually can put pressure on the system and get something Maybe it’s not exactly what you want but perhaps a compromise can be worked out.”
Newspaper Details
Orland Park Star Herald
Orland Park, Illinois, US
Thu, Jun 21, 1979
Page 50
Full Page
Clipped by
Rebecca S.
USA 09 Sep 2023
Other Publications Near Orland Park, Illinois
Orland Park Daily Southtown News Marketer
Orland Park PennySaver
Orland Park Herald
Orland Park Star Herald
Orland Park Star Tribune
