Jefferson Street Bridge Out: Repair Update Isn't Good

JOLIET, IL — Although the new $215 million Will County Courthouse opened last week, getting to the downtown building on Jefferson Street from Joliet's west side will remain a challenge for several months. The Illinois Department of Transportation has kept Joliet's Jefferson Street Bridge over the Des Plaines River canal closed since early June.

The bridge is the responsibility of the state of Illinois, not the city of Joliet.

Last week, Illinois Department of Transportation officials notified Joliet Patch that the Jefferson Street Bridge, originally expected to reopen in January, is now set to remain closed until the end of April 2021.

IDOT officials said the bridge repairs have fallen behind schedule "due to fabrication of a mechanical component, the main gear shaft, that is needed to move the bridge."

Joliet's six drawbridges around the downtown were all built around 1930.

"Due to the age of these types of bridges a lot of the parts have to be custom made and there are few fabricators that make the parts," IDOT spokeswoman Maria Castaneda wrote Patch. "At this time, we are waiting for mechanical parts from the fabricator needed to repair the bridge. Once we receive the parts we can continue with the repairs, weather permitting."