If you use the Home Avenue pedestrian bridge over the Ike, you will completely understand that the bumpy, cracked, pock-marked span is about to be closed for a months-worth of repairs that are, what, 20 years overdue?
If on the other hand, you’ve always wondered about that narrow bridge you only drive under while heading west on the highway, you will not grasp what a terrific investment the village government is about to make.
This vital link between semi-north and southern Oak Park is original to the construction of the old Congress Expressway, way back in 1957. Beyond making the chain link fence taller and scattering some asphalt filling occasionally, it seems unlikely a nickel has ever been spent on this bridge.
But spend some time watching and you’ll see a near endless parade of kids walking and biking across the bridge, jogging parents scrambling the young-uns brains as they push them across the endless bumps, and other grown people making use of this short-cutting connection.
Here’s one small step toward repairing America’s crumbling infrastructure.
