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Darien bridge projects to close road

TOWN OF DARIEN — Starting Monday, two bridges in the town of Darien will be closed for more than three months, according to a news release from the Walworth County Public Works Department.

Both bridges are on County X near the Birds Eye plant and southwest of Darien.

One bridge spans the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad track and is located between Salt Box Road and County C.

The other bridge spans Little Turtle Creek and is located between Temperance Trail and Sharon-Darien Town Line Road.

Work is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 31.

Traffic will be detoured from Highway 14 and County X west to Interstate 43, then to Highway 140.

The northern detour will reverse the route.

The bridge over the creek dates to the 1930s. The bridge over the rail tracks is from the 1950s, said Larry Price, Walworth County public works operations director.

Both had seen a lot of use.

"County X ... was a major state highway until Interstate 43 came in," said Price. "It was the major route from Rockford to Darien to Delavan—through all the small towns."

The replacement project has been in the works for years, he said.

If the bridges were let go for longer, their weight limits would have to be lowered, making it difficult for farm equipment and truck traffic.

The costs are estimated at $1.4 million for the railroad bridge and $1.2 million for the bridge over the creek.

The projects will use 80 percent federal funding and 20 percent county funding.