Lake Bluff board moves forward with Green Bay Road bridge design amid pedestrian-safety questions

The Village of Lake Bluff trustees reviewed and gave staff consensus to advance a design for the Green Bay Road bridge replacement, while several trustees and residents pressed consultants on pedestrian safety and sidewalk protections.

Drew, the village administrator, told the board the Architecture Board and consultants completed a compressed design sprint to deliver plans for the bridge and related roadside exhibit. "We are still planning on February starting construction so we are um in a sprint now," Drew said, noting the schedule depends on state approvals and procurement with the Illinois Department of Transportation and federal reimbursement rules.

Consultants described a design that replaces the existing iron-truss bridge with poured concrete walls finished with a rock-pattern form liner, a metal fence element and a five-foot sidewalk. Presenters said the fence portion will be about 6.5 feet within a 10-foot overall height that the railroad requires to limit snow or debris from falling onto the tracks. "They are a maximum of two inches or so apart and that's supposed to stop big chunks from falling onto the tracks," a presenter said when explaining the separation detail.

Dan Shugen, project manager with Baxter Woodman, introduced himself and clarified lane and shoulder dimensions: "There is an 11-foot travel lane, then a five-foot shoulder before you get to the five-foot sidewalk," he said, adding the shoulder provides a larger buffer but is not a physical barrier.

Trustees and residents sought alternatives to the planned design, asking whether a physical guardrail or a raised curb could better protect pedestrians, particularly children, people with strollers and dog walkers. Presenters said a wider separation or a physical barrier would require a wider bridge footprint that could trigger railroad clearances or add costs the current funding does not cover. One presenter told the board a modest lip or curb could become a trip hazard if it is not highly visible.

The board also reviewed plans for a small roadside exhibit and memorial west of Green Bay Road near the trails where the old bridge once stood. Staff said the exhibit would include a bench, a plaque with historical context and a single salvaged bridge member on a pedestal to satisfy a historic-preservation agreement with state reviewers.

Bob Hunter, chair of the Architecture Board, said the ABR will want to make minor tweaks but that the current documents are adequate to move the project forward to state review. "It's going to need a little bit of tweaking. I haven't seen the final version," Hunter said, while recommending timely submission of the roadside exhibit materials; staff identified a near-term submittal deadline to meet state requirements.

Staff told the board the project is partially paid for with state and federal funds and that IDOT's approval cadence affects when reimbursable design costs can be spent. The village will store salvageable historic bridge members at public works for up to 10 years for possible adaptive reuse.

The board did not take a formal roll-call vote on the design at the meeting; Drew said he would take the ABR and trustees' comments as consensus to forward the plan to the state and continue final engineering and procurement. The board requested continued attention to pedestrian-protection options during final design and to provide clearer pedestrian-count data for both the Moffett and Green Bay crossings.

Next steps: staff will refine design details requested by the ABR, finalize the roadside-exhibit submittal for state review and continue coordination with IDOT and Baxter Woodman on schedule and procurement.