Hinsdale contemplates next move with one-lane bridge

It was built in 1875 as a footbridge over railroad tracks and 35 years later was widened to accommodate those newfangled automobiles.

[Bridge PIC]

Pictures of the bridge.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebrown3506/33...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebrown3506/19...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebrown3506/33...

[as4e56]

Good job. That looks pretty decrepit from the side. Why does the Tribune not include a picture with an article about a bridge? It's sort of important.

[Greg]

Get the railroad to pay for it, they'll be happy to get rid of it if it's too low. That's the busiest rail line the region.

[just amazing]

$700,000 just for a feasibility study!! I'm sure in the wrong industry. I wonder how many millions the bridge will cost to replace...

[anon]

I grew up in the area and always thought that bridge was charming- just another thing that gives Hinsdale a little character. A 2 lane solution would probably be better, though.

[Print Mo Money]

just amazing wrote:

$700,000 just for a feasibility study!! I'm sure in the wrong industry. I wonder how many millions the bridge will cost to replace...

How much of the government budget is wasted on studies? Yesterdays article about the proposed "Gold Line" in Chicago was going to require a study of $995,000.

[Calvin]

Print Mo Money wrote:

<quoted text>
How much of the government budget is wasted on studies? Yesterdays article about the proposed "Gold Line" in Chicago was going to require a study of $995,000.

Both costs are crazy but how is it almost the same price to study a 100 ft long bridge as an almost 20 mile long rail line with stations, etc?

[japa]

the bridge doesnt look too bad. i guess it could be a pain. at least it has lights.

where my husband family lives in mexico city (suburbs) they have a one lane bridge to go over a 4 or 6 lane highway (i forget which it is) and there is a guy that stands at the top with a flag and waves cars over in bunches. it is customary to give tips to the guy (equivalent to about 25 cents here). people race over each day to be the flag person. whoever is there first gets it.

[turf doc]

Right next to my hometown in ostersund, sweden is a town called lit. They have a one way bridge which is still in use. Next to it is the highway bridge, a stones throw away. Last year when driving there, I always took the one lane bridge, it,s history. So my advice is do not tear down the old bridge, put a new one by it. Keep your historical landmarks, you only have one. Think about it.

[hmmm]

I love the guy complaining about how inconvenient his convenience is. I grew up near Hinsdale and became quite used to just waiting out long freight trains in Westerns Springs, La Grange, and points beyond due to the lack of under or overpasses. So what if one has to wait for a short one way light in order to cross - it's a lot shorter than having to wait for an entire train.

Now the issues with the bridge not being able to carry the weight of emergency vehicles is a valid reason to question the practicality of the bridge - not the couple minutes (if that) it adds on to the time it takes to get from a to b.

[RegularGuy]

Greg wrote:

Get the railroad to pay for it, they'll be happy to get rid of it if it's too low. That's the busiest rail line the region.

No, the railroad deeded the bridge with the understanding that they would do ZERO maintenance on it in the future.

It's called 'selling the monkey.'

[RegularGuy]

anon wrote:

I grew up in the area and always thought that bridge was charming- just another thing that gives Hinsdale a little character. A 2 lane solution would probably be better, though.

If you like the bridge, then argue for keeping it as a pedestrian crossing. I had to watch one morning as a large dairy delivery truck headed for the hospital crossed over the bridge (illegally). I was sure I was about to witness a collapse.

The new bridge should be moved east to link both ends of County Line Road, or else put a tunnel under the tracks to link the street.

But $700,000 for a study is absurd. So is ten years more to implement the solution.

[hmmm]

part 2 - just to add an anecdote that some of you from the area may relate to. I remember as a kid when we'd be headed to Hinsdale for something or other, if there was a freight train coming my parents would try their hardest to get to the top of that bridge just in time to be there when the engine passed under. Usually the conductors would blast their horns just below the bridge. Being on top of that kind of rumbly wooden bridge with the view of the tracks and all that noise was a massive highlight to a 7-year-old me!

I agree with the poster from Sweden - it's local history and something full of memories. If it's a nuisance that is eventually going to be an issue to train traffic, so be it; if there is some other solution that can be easily and cheaply implemented, it would get my vote.

[Water board of education]

A "$700,000 STUDY" for a two lane replacement bridge? Are you kidding? I smell federal ARRA play money here.

[Stan]

1) Knock it Down !!!

2) Replace it with 4 lane road (for futuer expansion)

3) Start Now !!

Cost for this study....Zero Dollars

Now go do it !!!

You are welcome !!!

[Sweet Old Bob]

Plenty of room and convenience for bicycles. Why not keep it?

It might encourage more people to ride their bikes than climb in their massive steel pollution generators that probably send people to the hospital that the bridge leads to!

We should stop spending this money needlessly.

[Rex the Dog]

The most obvious answer to this situation is to build a tunnel at County Line Road and connect both sides. That will keep traffic flowing through Hinsdale for all the people who are just trying to go north and south. Keep the speed limit the same.

Problem solved and it did not cost $700,000 for a stupid and unnecessary feasability study.

This should have been done 20 years ago.

[Stan]

Sweet Old Bob wrote:

Plenty of room and convenience for bicycles. Why not keep it?
It might encourage more people to ride their bikes than climb in their massive steel pollution generators that probably send people to the hospital that the bridge leads to!
We should stop spending this money needlessly.

Along those lines.....

Why are you on your computer cause the need for a large electric generation plant to be burning fossil fuels?

Now if you real care...turn off yout computer, lights, and other electric devices....eat a carrot and go ride your bike.

[TRON]

is it over troubled water? I would lay it down.

[Jumping up and down]

I once wrote to the village engineer after seeing 3 Hinsdale giant SUV's crossing that bridge at one time. 3 times 5,000 pounds each is 15,000 pounds on the bridge...over 7 TONs!

Got a nice letter back essentially saying "don't worry". Probably the same form letter Minnesota used to send out before the highway bridge collapsed or Gary bridge folk sent out before the collapse last weekend of their pedestrian bridge.

Anyone else mentally start tabulating weights in crowded old elevators?

Isn't there anyone in government that actually cares? Who is actually interested in their job? Why do we need to fund outside consultants to "study" an issue that has such an obvious solution? Just what exactly do we pay all these "experts" already ON the government payroll for?