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Health & Fitness

Red Gate Bridge open; carries over 5,000 vehicles

The Red Gate Bridge carried over 5,000 vehicles on the first weekday it was open. More importantly, area residents are reporting time savings of 5-10 minutes or more on trips across the Fox River.

As of 12 noon on Saturday, December 15th, the Red Gate Bridge over the Fox River was open for vehicular traffic. And, it looks like Google has already included the bridge in its on-line maps.

The fourth river crossing in the City’s bridge inventory is significant and will provide a number of very important benefits to St. Charles and the surrounding communities. These include decreased travel times, improved public safety, greater convenience, and providing a new physical connection for the east and west sides of our community.

The City of St. Charles completed a 24-hour traffic count on the first weekday after the opening of the Red Gate Bridge. It was a 24-hour count from December 17th at 10:45 AM to December 18th at 10:45 AM.

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The count showed 5,198 vehicles crossed the bridge during this period (eastbound - 2,686 vehicles and westbound - 2,512 vehicles).

For comparison purposes, these are the daily counts for the other St. Charles bridges for 2012:

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  • Illinois Street - 6,219 vehicles
  • Prairie Street - 8,887 vehicles
  • Main Street - 30,281 vehicles

 

While some of the Red Gate Bridge trips are probably "tourists" who used the bridge for entertainment or to satisfy a curiosity, the count is certainly impressive. More importantly, the City is hearing from motorists who are saving 5-10 minutes or more on trips across the Fox River.

The opening of a new bridge is a very rare occurrence and residents should take pride in this new transportation asset.

The new Red Gate Road Bridge extends Red Gate Road across the Fox River to Route 25. The City broke ground for the bridge in August, 2011. Work continues on the pedestrian and bicycle pathway that will connect existing trails on either side of the river. That pathway will be completed in the spring of 2013.

For photos of the construction or to watch live video of the bridge, please go to the Red Gate Bridge website.

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