Are you tired of sitting in traffic on the 9th Street Bridge in Lockport? 

Are you tired of waiting 5 or 6 stop lights just to get across?

Are you sick of traffic being backed up to the Wal-Mart on 159th or Prairie Bluff Golf Course on Renwick Road?

Don’t you wish there was another way to go over the Des Plaines River, instead of going through central Lockport?

The Caton Farm Bruce Road Bridge project, which was mere months away from Phase 1 completion, was shelved by your elected Will County Executive & the majority of your Will County Board Members.

Phase 1 planning, which has spent over $6 million of your tax dollars and encompassed 20 years of effort, was voted to be converted into a PEL Study in November 2022.  

What this means is that Will County voted to relinquish Sponsorship of this endeavor, thereby putting the 20 years of Phase 1 planning efforts into a packaged report for some other entity to assume responsibility for the Project.

However, only Will County can assume responsibility for this project, since it encompasses too many municipalities, none of which can sponsor the entirety of the project on their own.

Purpose

This Group is designed to facilitate an organized response on behalf of community members that would advocate ‘for’ the Caton Farm-Bruce Road Bridge Project.  We believe that one of the historical drawbacks of this decade’s long project coming to fruition is that there is no active Group working positively towards this endeavor. 

History

This new bridge would connect Crest Hill (at Caton Farm Road) and Lockport (at Oak Avenue). 

Want to know more about the history of this failed Project?

History

Want to see a map of the proposed Project?

Map of Proposed Bridge

What You Can Do? Do you want to make a difference?

Send your comments about this desperately needed alternative crossing DIRECTLY to the Will County Executive office, your Will County Board Member & Local State Representative

Members

frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why not use open up the Division Street bridge or use Thornton Ave instead?

Answer: The Division Street bridge, and its corresponding entrance/exits are not suitable or sustainable for the increase in traffic that has overwhelmed Lockport in recent years. The Caton Farm/Bruce Road study looked at all alternative entrances/exits multiple times throughout the course of the 20 year Phase 1 project. Caton Farm at the West and Bruce at the East were determined to be the most logical entrance/exists for sustainable future growth.

Question: Should I contact the City of Lockport officials?

Answer: No. Because this bridge would encompass the municipalities of Crest Hill, Lockport, Homer and Homer Glen. No one City can effectively be the Sponsor for this project. The only effective Sponsor is the County. Therefore, reach out to your local County Representative and voice your concern.

Question: It’s a State Highway issue, so should IDOT be involved?

Answer: No. IDOT has been involved in the Phase 1 planning, however, IDOT would not ultimately be responsible for this bridge project. Will County was the Sponsor, along with the Will County Department of Transportation for the past 20 years. Then in November 2022, the Will County Board voted to relinquish sponsorship of this project. The County is who you should contact, or your local State Senator or State Representative.

Statement: It’s never going to happen because it is going to cost $600m!

Fact: This figure was created at some point in time during Phase 1 of the project as an ‘estimate’. There is no factual information that exists that substantiates this figure. Phase 1 of the project was to provide the foundation, ironing out all of the prosposed roadways, legal issues, etc. Once Phase 1 was completed, THEN Phase 2 would begin where project cost estimates would be created, and therefore determining sources of funding of the project could begin.

Question: What are the plans for the homes along that stretch of Gougar affected by this plan?

Answer: There were 3 proposed alternatives that the Will County Board voted on. Gougar was chosen because the Will County 2030 Plan included widening Gougar to 4 lanes.  As this 4 lane widening is not a part of the Bridge Project, Gougar was chosen for that reason to 'piggyback' on that eventual effort.

There is a supplemental plan from the City of Lockport to make an Alternative option (May 2020), which is out of Scope of the Bridge project, to keep Bruce Road going to I355, and create an Exit/Entrance ramp at Bruce and I355.