CABLE, Illinois - A bridge that links Cable, Illinois, and Sherrard, Illinois has some Mercer County residents concerned.
The bridge is on 300th Street between Camp Creek Road and Meadow Gate Road.
"Its really a safety issue that should have been addressed," says resident Don Ditto.
He says the bridge is the fastest way for him to get from his home to downtown Sherrard.
A trip that used to take only two or three minutes, now takes him and his neighbors about twenty minutes.
That's because of detours brought on by the closed bridge.
But, he says more than an inconvenience, the closed bridge is a public safety issue.
"Say this house right here has a fire, or there`s an elderly person living there. The response time is ridiculous. Especially when they could just drive right through here," said Ditto.
It's not a new problem at all. In fact, Ditto, who has lived in his home with his wife for nearly three decades, says the bridge has been closed for about four years.
Ditto says this bridge issue is a testament to the infrastructure issues in Mercer County.
He has contacted his local representative Dan Swanson.
"I got a call returned to me telling me that they were gonna work on it in May and they was gonna try and get it done by December," he said.
Ditto said he has yet to see any progress made and he now is calling upon leaders to find the funding and manpower to get this bridge fixed.
