10-span arch bridge to be built over Fox River

McHugh is building the new eastbound bridge, just south of the existing Fox River Bridge, under a $44.5 million contract with the Illinois Tollway as part of its widening project on I-88. The new bridge will be made of structural precast concrete, and feature a series of five arches to replicate the design of the existing bridge, which opened in 1958. The existing westbound bridge will be rehabilitated as part of a separate contract in 2009. When work is complete, the existing bridge will carry three lanes of westbound traffic and the new span will carry three lanes of eastbound traffic. Currently the existing bridge carries two lanes of traffic in each direction, with limited shoulders. Because McHugh is building an entirely new, additional bridge, work will not disrupt traffic during construction.

The new bridge is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2008. It is part of the Tollway's Reagan Memorial Rebuild & Widen Project, which will widen I-88 from two lanes to three lanes in each direction between the Aurora Toll Plaza and Orchard Road. This program is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2009.