Decayingmidwest

Wheeler Avenue Bridge, South Beloit, Illinois

Wheeler Avenue Bridge in South Beloit, Closed to Cars Since 1995

The Wheeler Avenue Bridge in South Beloit, Illinois closed to cars in 1995. A 2013 plan to turn it into a trail link never happened.

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The Wheeler Avenue Bridge in South Beloit, Illinois has been closed to cars since 1995. In 2013 it was supposed to be turned into a bike trail, and that plan failed.

I had been here a few times before this video and taken some pretty cool photos. The description puts the bridge at over 120 years old. It’s a cool little bridge that not very many people know about, and it’s almost been forgotten.

What we found

When you first walk up, there’s spray paint, overgrown weeds and trash everywhere, and the road is completely cut off. I said in the video that I understood it was a walking bridge that got closed off for whatever reason, though I could be wrong and it could have been used for cars. The description says it was closed to vehicle traffic in 1995. Even the sidewalks are overgrown, there’s a lot of trash from people, and the backs of the signs are all spray painted.

A striped Road Closed barricade across the approach, with the bridge's steel frame behind the trees.
A striped Road Closed barricade across the approach, with the bridge's steel frame behind the trees. 0:52
Beer cans and trash scattered on cracked pavement at the foot of the bridge, with a graffiti covered block on the left.
Beer cans and trash scattered on cracked pavement at the foot of the bridge, with a graffiti covered block on the left. 1:18

The road itself is falling apart. It’s starting to sag and dip in certain spots, with chunks missing. Nature is reclaiming its territory.

Cracked asphalt covered in faded spray paint.
Cracked asphalt covered in faded spray paint. 1:44
The way onto the bridge, with a rusted guardrail on the right and brush crowding in.
The way onto the bridge, with a rusted guardrail on the right and brush crowding in. 2:10

On the South Beloit side there was a chain link fence almost completely covered over, but somebody had opened it up, and it was chained. A tree that obviously wasn’t there before has gotten big. Down on the underside there’s more graffiti on the walls.

A fence almost buried in bare branches and red leaves.
A fence almost buried in bare branches and red leaves. 2:36
The bridge deck with a cracked road surface, rusted rails and graffiti on the far end.
The bridge deck with a cracked road surface, rusted rails and graffiti on the far end. 3:02

There’s a lot of graffiti on two cement blocks too. It’s sad that this place is closed off and left. You would think they’d do something with it. I couldn’t imagine it costing too much to fix up and make into some kind of walkway.

Looking down the bridge deck, steel trusses overhead, paint on the road and water below on the left.
Looking down the bridge deck, steel trusses overhead, paint on the road and water below on the left. 3:28
Two concrete blocks covered in graffiti blocking the far end of the road.
Two concrete blocks covered in graffiti blocking the far end of the road. 3:54

Why the Wheeler Avenue Bridge is abandoned

A 96.7 The Eagle story from March 2023 reports that the bridge was built in the 1890s, crosses Turtle Creek and was closed to vehicle traffic in 1995. It says the bridge was once slated for repair and rebuilding, but officials judged the cost too high to justify. It also reports that over the years the bridge has been used as shelter by homeless people and as a drinking spot by teenagers.

The 2013 plan is the one I quoted in the video description. A Rockford Register Star story from February 2013 described a $437,250 state grant that would link bike trails with paths across northern Illinois and might help the city restore the bridge, which the story called 114 years old. That figure comes from the quote in the video description.

What happens next

The 2023 story mentions talk of demolishing the bridge and replacing it with a modern pedestrian bridge. That is talk, and I couldn’t find a confirmed plan.

The bridge was meant to link trails in 2013, and in 2023 a local radio story still called it abandoned.

Left behind

  • A road cut off at the end of the bridge
  • Trash and spray paint everywhere, including the backs of the signs
  • Graffiti on two cement blocks and the underside of the bridge
  • A road surface sagging with chunks missing
  • A fence opened up and chained on the South Beloit side
  • A big tree growing where there wasn't one before

What I carried in

Same list as every video description.

Sources

More like this

The footage that never goes public lives on Patreon. It's paid, and it's where the rough cuts, the security run-ins and the early releases go.