Woodlawn Cemetery's New Road, Bridge Gets Built: Photos

JOLIET, IL — People who were frustrated at the lack of progress at fixing the one and only road leading into Woodlawn Cemetery's Memorial Park 2 will now be able to visit their loved one's gravesite. On Tuesday morning, contractors from Pennsylvania got to work building the entrance road and bridge over the creek at Woodlawn Memorial Park 2.

Woodlawn is owned and operated by Pennsylvania-based Everstory Partners, formerly known as StoneMor. Everstory offers funeral services, cemeteries and cremation services in 23 states plus Puerto Rico.

Woodlawn Cemetery 2 has been closed to the public since August or September after storms downed several trees and washed away a large section of road that served as a bridge over the creek.

By 1 p.m. Tuesday, the crews out of Pennsylvania estimated they were 85 percent finished with the work.

"Our team has been on-site for the past two days, repairing the bridge into the cemetery," Michele Stone, the Oregon-based vice president of corporate operations for Everstory, wrote Joliet Patch's editor on Tuesday. "For safety reasons, please continue to refrain from using the bridge into the cemetery while repairs are in process.

"Repairs should be complete by the end of the day on Wednesday, November 15. We will continue to post updates on our Facebook page. Thank you for your continued patience," Stone wrote.

While Joliet Patch was interviewing the contractors, a woman driving a red sports car parked and watched in the distance. She said her son is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park 2 and that she has wanted to visit his grave, to place a wreath for Christmas, but has not been able to do so, with the entrance road being closed over the past few months.