Project Update: Plum Creek Greenway Trail bridge repairs completed

Editor’s note: If you notice repair or building activities in the preserves this construction season and wonder what is happening, Cindy Wojdyla Cain, the Forest Preserve public information officer, will be providing online Project Update reports with all the information you need to stay up to date. 

Work has been completed to repair the Plum Creek Greenway Trail bridge in Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve.

The bridge was damaged in January 2025 when a large tree fell on it. Engineers were consulted to see if the bridge could be repaired or if it had to be replaced. It was determined that the bridge could be repaired.

Those repairs began in early March and were completed on May 22. Contractors replaced one of the bridge’s main support structures and poured new concrete footings. Also, all the decking and railings were replaced.

The bridge is in the eastern section of the preserve near East Bemes Road just north of the preserve’s well-known big bridge. The Plum Creek Greenway Trail section affected by the damaged bridge was closed since the tree fell on it. This trail section is now open.

The bridge was originally built in 2011 in tandem with the construction of the Plum Creek Greenway Trail and the capital redesign project at Goodenow Grove. It’s approximately 80 feet long.