Update: Renwick Road Bridge Reopens

Updated at 10:25 a.m. June 7:

Plainfield Township Highway Commissioner said state inspectors gave the OK Wednesday night to reopen the Renwick Road bridge after a construction truck drove across it.

"It was open this morning," Reichert said Thursday. "Inspection went fine, so it's back open."

Original story, June 6:

Things just got a little more complicated for drivers already dealing with detours thanks to the .

As work continues on a replacement for the Renwick Road bridge, the one-lane structure is closed after a construction vehicle drove over it late Wednesday morning.

“Apparently some large construction truck decided to drive over it,” Sgt. Mike Fisher said.

“He made it through OK,” Fisher said, but Highway Commissioner Sam Reichert made the call to close the bridge until it can be inspected to make sure it’s safe.

According to Reichert, the truck was delivering steel to the bridge construction site. The driver received a citation for violating the bridge’s four-ton weight limit, he said.

Immediately after the mishap, Reichert said he called state inspectors to have the bridge checked.

“They told me they’d be out here in two hours,” he said. In the meantime, barriers have been placed across the bridge so that no one can drive across it.

“We’ll move them as soon as we get the OK,” Reichert said, adding he’s unwilling to let any traffic cross the structure before he has confirmation that it’s safe.

“I can’t take the chance,” he said. “I walked it, it looks clear, but I’m not an engineer so I’m not making that decision.”

If inspectors give the all-clear, the bridge could reopen as soon as Wednesday night, Reichert said.

Road reconstruction related to the bridge project means the intersection of Renwick and River will be closed in two phases through mid-August.

Currently, the intersection is closed north to River Court. A second stage, set to begin once the first stage is completed, will close River Road south of Renwick Road to north of Easy Street.