Truck plows through Long Grove covered bridge days after it was designated historic landmark

June 28--Sixteen days after being designated a federal historic landmark, the covered bridge in Long Grove was severely damaged after a box truck plowed into it Wednesday afternoon.

A day later, the wreckage left many business owners and area residents in disbelief and wondering what would become of an historic structure that has come to symbolize a village known for its quaint charm.

Village officials, meanwhile, said Thursday they've been focused on whether to reinforce the damaged bridge with temporary support but could not definitively say when the bridge could be reopened.

The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the driver of a box truck that was being rented by a company failed to come to a complete stop before attempting to cross the bridge, despite warning signs that forbid large trucks and buses from passing through it, Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Covelli has said.

The top of the truck, which was traveling east on Robert Parker Coffin Road, then struck the bridge, causing extensive damage, although no one was injured in the crash, Covelli said.

The driver, Eriberto Orozco, 30, of the 3500 block of North Lowell Avenue in Chicago, was cited for disobeying a stop sign and traffic control device, driving an overweight vehicle on the bridge and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, Covelli said. He was released from police custody at the scene.

The truck was empty but weighed 15,000 pounds, exceeding the weight limit of the bridge, Covelli said. Vehicles roughly weighing less than 6,000 pounds, or three tons, are allowed to pass through the one-lane bridge.

Tribune Archive Photo

Long Grove's covered bridge, pictured Dec. 21, 1973, designated a federal historic landmark.

Long Grove's covered bridge, pictured Dec. 21, 1973, designated a federal historic landmark. (Tribune Archive Photo)

On Thursday, Long Grove Village Manager David Lothspeich said officials were working with a structural engineer from a private company to estimate the damage done to the one-lane covered bridge.

During an initial assessment, they found the cover to the bridge leaning two inches to the north, he said. Officials also were planning to inspect the foundation.

"The most urgent need is whether some temporary support should be done," Lothspeich said.

He said village officials also insure the bridge and have been working with the insurance company that represents the business that employed the driver, adding how the company rented the truck for food delivery.

But many questions about the long-term repair work to the bridge remain unanswered.

Ryan Messner, vice president of the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association, said the upper part of the bridge will have to be totalled and replaced but should be covered by insurance. The association, along with the Long Grove Historical Society, was instrumental in successfully adding the bridge to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this month.

Aaron Underwood, a resident historian with the Long Grove Historical Society, said that as far as he knew, a formal process does not exist for the village in terms of repairing or maintaining a historic designated structure.

"The historic part of this bridge is its iron structure and hopefully that's not been damaged," Underwood said. "The real issue is if you maintain it in a way that has lost its integrity. If so, it could be removed from the historical list."

Many small business owners near Robert Parker Coffin Road in downtown Long Grove came to work Thursday still in shock over the crash.

Mary Ann Ullrich, who owns the Village Tavern, a family-run restaurant that has been in Long Grove for 56 years, said she has never seen such damage done to the bridge before.

"It's a shame. This is the worst we've seen the bridge being damaged," Ullrich said. "I don't know what that (driver) was thinking."

Susan Fanara, owner of Ma & Pa's Candy in the downtown, said that with the bridge being closed for an extended time, her business will be adversely affected.

Linda Blankshain, a Buffalo Grove resident who has been a member of the Long Grove Community Church for 24 years, said drivers may bypass downtown Long Grove with the bridge being closed.

Since her church is west of the bridge on Robert Parker Coffin Road, members will have to navigate around downtown Long Grove to attend services.

"Now, you can't cross the bridge, so all of our people will have to go around to Route 53 and back onto Robert Coffin Parker Road," Blankshain said. "Can you believe this just after getting historical marker status?"

The crash comes after the covered bridge, which dates back to the early 1900s, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 11 -- the result of an effort by residents and community leaders to pursue the federal designation.

The preservation campaign started in 2017 after village officials began debating a few years ago whether to use federal money to tear down the bridge and build a two-lane replacement, or use a larger amount of village funds to maintain the covered one.

Laurie Wilhoit, marketing coordinator for the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association, echoed many of the feelings expressed by business owners and residents about the crash.

"It's devastating because the bridge is our brand," she said. "We've seen a resurgence of people coming back to Long Grove and support small businesses, and we hope to see that trend continue even with the bridge in disrepair."

Chicago Tribune reporter Robert McCoppin contributed to this report.

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