Brandon Road bridge in Joliet Township fixed again

The Brandon Road bridge is ending 2022 in working order despite a two-week shutdown in early December for repairs of recurring problems with the center lock mechanism.

The bridge was reopened Dec. 19 after repairs to the center lock, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokesperson said. The drawbridge had been closed for emergency repairs after a Dec. 3 mechanical failure.

The bridge, which crosses the Des Plaines River in Joliet Township, has been closed repeatedly since 2016 for repairs to the center lock. The mechanism releases the two ends of the bridge when it is raised and reconnects them when it is lowered.

The repairs this time took less time than others that have lasted for months.

In January 2020, the bridge was closed for emergency repairs of the center lock mechanism and was not reopened until April 2021.

The Brandon Road bridge, located just outside the city of Joliet, is one of six drawbridges built in the 1930s in the Joliet area to cross the Des Plaines River. The other five are in downtown Joliet.