The weight limit for vehicles using the Chicago Street bridge in Elgin has been lowered again following the most recent inspection done by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
What had once been a 40-ton limit for the span is now down to 29 tons as the city gears up to replace the 86-year-old bridge in 2027. But even at that limit, everything other heavy trucks — school buses, garbage trucks, fire engines, box trucks — will not have a problem using the structure, Public Services Director Mike Pubentz said.
“The bridge is safe for everyday use, and the new limit will not impact most vehicles traveling this route,” Pubentz said.
Elgin Fire Department’s heaviest unit is just under the cutoff point at 28 tons, meaning it won’t need to find alternates routes when answering calls, Chief Robb Cagann said in a news release.
Signs rerouting heavier vehicles to other bridges will be posted on State Street and Chicago Street, officials said.
The Chicago Street bridge was built in 1939 and is a four-span continuous concrete T-beam bridge that’s gone through several rehabilitations over the years. In the most recent inspection done in February, “one of the reinforced concrete beam spans showed slightly advanced deterioration, which triggered the cautionary load posting,” Pubentz said.
The bridge carries about 4,500 vehicles daily, according to city officials, and is inspected every two to four years.
That its condition has been deteriorating is not a surprise. Elgin started working on plans to replace the span in 2021, and that can trigger additional inspections, officials said.
As part of the Phase I design process, an inspection was done in 2024. The evaluation found that the bridge is structurally and functionally obsolete.
The latest analysis found “an expected level of deterioration for a structure of this type and age,” Pubentz said.
Preliminary engineering for the new bridge is expected be complete by the fall, after which it will be reviewed and approved by IDOT, he said.
Final design work should be done by early 2027, with construction starting later that year, Pubentz said. When the work begins will be based on factors like other projects in the works and funding availability, he said.
Elgin also needs to replace the Kimball Street bridge. Preliminary engineering is underway, but construction will not begin until after the new Chicago Street bridge is built. The Kimball Street bridge has also been found to be structurally and functionally obsolete but safe to use.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
