Jefferson Street Bridge, City Hall Reopen After City Restores Power

JOLIET — On Thursday night, Joliet Patch learned that power has been restored at City Hall; therefore, City Hall will be back open to the citizens of Joliet and open for regular business hours on Friday and the Jefferson Street Bridge has been reopened for downtown traffic.

The city of Joliet issued a press release alerting people that =the Jefferson Street Bridge reopened Friday morning after crews successfully repaired the road following a water main break in the area. Electrical power has also been restored, allowing City Hall to resume operations beginning at 8 a.m.

The cause of the water main break is believed to be aging infrastructure. The water main is scheduled for replacement in 2028 as part of the city’s ongoing water main replacement program.

On Thursday morning, one day after employees at the City Hall received Christmas as a holiday, City Hall was closed due to an emergency situation at City Hall involving a power outage.

The city of Joliet also noted that the Jefferson Street Bridge was shut down temporarily by the Joliet Police Department for safety reasons.

"Due to a power outage, City Hall will be closed today, Thursday, Dec. 26 until further notice," residents were notified.

On Thursday, Joliet's deputy city manager Christa Desiderio and John Lukancic, Joliet's emergency management coordinator, met with Joliet Patch around 10:30 a.m. to give an update on the situation.

Desiderio said city staff learned of the water main break around 6:20 a.m. It happened under the West Jefferson Street on the back side of City Hall across the street from the Joliet Township Government Offices building.

The broken water main filled the ComEd underground utility vault with water, causing the electricity outage at City Hall. Desiderio said the power outage only impacted about 40 customers. Harrah's Casino and Will County Courthouse were not impacted by the power outage.

Because the water main break caused a portion of Jefferson Street to buckle, creating a giant crater in the middle of the street, the Joliet Police Department made the decision to temporarily close the Jefferson Street Bridge for the sake of motorists' safety, Desiderio noted.

"Obviously, the road is buckled," Desiderio explained.

She also pointed out that the phones at City Hall are still working fine and that many of the city's employees are still working on Thursday. "We are servicing residents, the (building) inspectors are out in the field. Anyone having an appointment, they are meeting their needs," Desiderio said.

Desiderio said there is no flooding in City Hall.

People can still call City Hall during normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 815-724-4000.

Several Com-Ed crews were lined along Jefferson Street, working with Joliet's Water Division in hopes of restoring power to City Hall and the other 40 customers who lost power.

Joliet Patch also received a notification from the city of Joliet that the Municipal Officers Electoral Board Meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 26, has been cancelled due to a power outage at City Hall. The meeting will be rescheduled for next week.