As officials consider options for replacing the Home Avenue pedestrian bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway in Oak Park, community members seem to agree on one aspect of the project: That old bridge has to go.
Daniel Montville, an Oak Park resident of over 50 years, said the time to replace the bridge, which was built in the 1950s, is overdue, he said.
“It’s an ugly bridge,” he said. “It’s all rusty and I can’t even tell you how many times they’ve had to fill up potholes and put in better lighting.”
Mary Pat Eraci-Sullivan, another longtime Oak Park resident, also said it was time for a new bridge.
“The deck of the bridge is always chipped and there’s always debris and rocks because it looks like it’s literally falling apart,” she said.
Community members gathered July 8 at the Oak Park Conservatory to get information on the project and to give feedback on the village’s efforts to replace the bridge, which also spans the CTA Blue Line and the CSX railroad corridor.
“The existing Home Avenue Pedestrian Bridge provides an important connection between neighborhoods on both sides of the transportation corridor,” village officials said in introducing the project.
The project seeks to replace aging infrastructure, improve bicycle and pedestrian accessibility, improve visibility and connectivity, meet current ADA accessibility requirements and improve safety and user comfort, officials said at the meeting. The bridge must also be replaced to accommodate future Interstate 290 expansion plans.
Officials presented three options to replace the bridge. The proposals range in cost between $12 to 15 million, according to Bill McKenna, the village engineer for Oak Park. The Illinois Department of Transportation is committed to replacing the bridge, McKenna said, and could contribute anywhere between $8 to 10 million, but the agency’s exact contribution still has to be determined. The village would have to come up with the rest of the funds for the project.
Design concepts in the three proposals with support arches of various heights. The grandest looking of the three concepts included a single steel arch reached higher than arches in other proposals and would be able to be seen from different neighborhoods. Planners said “it will become an iconic symbol of the area” in materials outlining the proposals. It would also include aesthetic lighting. If constructed, it would also cost approximately 10% more than the other two proposals, according to members of the project team.
Oak Park residents had mixed opinions on which concept bridge they favored and had the opportunity to speak with project team members to share their input and learn more about plans to reshape the bridge.
Although Montville, the longtime village resident, admired the grand spectacle conveyed by the largest arch idea, he favored one of the other proposals. Eraci-Sullivan agreed that the giant arch concept didn’t match the character of Oak Park.
The bridges are mostly similar, McKenna said, the main differences are aesthetics and user experiences.
Public comments and feedback from the open house will be involved in refining the concepts that will help advance the project through its next stages of design and development. Additional public comments can be submitted online and those submitted by July 22 will be part of the official public meeting record.
Design concepts for the bridge still need to be presented to the Village Board and McKenna said he is looking to do this in late August or early September.
Construction planning for the project has not been finalized, but IDOT review/approval and detailed designs are expected in 2027.
chardy@chicagotribune.com
