Nov. 13—CHAMPAIGN — A section of Springfield Avenue/Illinois 10 that has been closed for four months could soon reopen.
According to Kensil Garnett, Illinois Department of Transportation Region 3 engineer, the replacement of the bridge over Copper Slough, east of Duncan Road, is expected to be completed within a few weeks.
Springfield Avenue has been closed to the workplace since July, meaning customers from nearby businesses sometimes have to take longer routes to reach their destinations.
“A lot of customers are late for appointments or call us to ask for directions,” said Florence Sands, office manager at The Forest Body Art and Adornments, a tattoo and piercing shop near the corner of South Duncan Road and West Springfield Avenue.
She added that while they are trying to educate people about entering from Springfield and Duncan, instead of Springfield and Mattis Avenues, navigating the closures can still be a challenge, especially for out-of-town visitors.
“We operate by appointment only, so that can really put us behind throughout the day,” Sands said.
When asked if she thought the project would be completed by Thanksgiving, Sands said she couldn’t speculate but hoped it would.
Garnett said in a previous interview that the project will replace the old bridge, built in 1940, with a double-barreled culvert that will “accommodate the existing three-lane section” and a multi-use path.
The new structure is also designed to handle the current level in that area.
Garnett told The News-Gazette on Tuesday that IDOT still expects it to be completed by Thanksgiving, despite recent impacts from bad weather.
“According to the report I just received, the top slab of the structure has been poured,” he said. “The work was flooded shortly after the top slab was poured, and the contractor spent the first week of November pumping water from the site.”
