School Bus Damages Historic IL Bridge Day After Two-Year Repair Was Completed

Less than 24 hours after the historic Long Grove Covered Bridge was reopened, it was damaged by a vehicle.

Around 12:25pm Saturday, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said they responded to a school bus that had struck the bridge.

The driver, a 44-year-old woman from Chicago, turned from Route 53 onto Robert Parker Coffin Road.

“Her GPS warned her she should not proceed with the type of vehicle she was driving. The occupants on the bus convinced her to proceed, which she did, and subsequently struck the bridge,” Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner.

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The bridge had reopened less than 24 hours earlier after a two year restoration project had finished.

In June 2018, a box truck struck the bridge just weeks after it had been declared a historic landmark.

Lake County Sheriff's Office

Multiple signs are near the bridge warning that no trucks, buses, or vehicles of 5 tons are allowed on the bridge.

Charges are pending against the driver.