Construction on Taylor Street bridge is about two weeks away from completion.

Taylor Street, between Kensington Boulevard and David Avenue, will remain closed until Oct. 1 for construction on the bridge, said Joel Maurer, assistant director of public works.

“The construction has been going on for five months, but the new bridge will be a great improvement for the community,” Maurer said.

The basic framework is completed. The blacktop has been put down, and workers have begun walkway construction.

The updated bridge will be wider and have 8-foot-wide walkways on both sides for pedestrians, thus making it safer.

The original 55-year-old deteriorating bridge was too narrow for two cars and had no pedestrian walkways. The narrow lanes and lack of walkways near the old bridge made it potentially unsafe for people to cross the bridge.

“The goal is to make the area safer, not just for pedestrians and parkgoers, but for the increasing local traffic,” Maurer said.

Minor repairs on the bridge were completed over the last 40 years, but nothing this extensive has been proposed.

Construction on the bridge began after May 29, when the bridge was closed to local traffic. The project was expected to be finished in five months and is on schedule.

The estimated cost of the project was $1.2 million. Sixty percent of the cost was federal aid, and another $115,000 was covered by a legislative grant. The remaining $535,000 will be covered by local funds.

One proponent of the bridge construction is that the bridge is near Lions Park, located next to the Taylor Street bridge.

Residents who live around the bridge had trouble dealing with the detours, parking regulations and construction equipment for the last five months.

“It’s been hard having to drive an extra mile around to get home, but I’d rather do that than risk driving across a rickety bridge,” said a local man who lives near the bridge.

The current detour sends drivers on Annie Glidden Road to Lincoln Highway, then east to First Street, where drivers turn south.

While some people have been inconvenienced by the detour, police and fire departments have not seen much of a problem.

“If you start closing more than one bridge then you will start having problems,” DeKalb Fire Chief Lanny Russell said.

Police and Fire Reporter Nick Swedberg contributed to this report.