HARDIN - The Joe Page Bridge is open again thanks to some quick effort by workers dispatched to fix multiple gates that were damaged in a high-speed chase on Saturday night. Seven of the Joe Page Bridge gates were harmed when a man tried to escape law enforcement. The man also put several people in great danger including Calhoun Sheriff William Heffington and others along his wild ride.
Sheriff Heffington confirmed Monday afternoon that the gates are fixed, and the bridge was open to traffic.
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“They had to make sure everything was in working order, and thankfully, they had the parts and what they needed to fix the gates,” he said. “Now that we have it opened up, it makes it a lot easier to get to and from Jersey and Greene Counties. The Joe Page Bridge is a lifeline for so many people. When it is closed, it hurts businesses in Hardin, and the ferries really have to work hard.”
A White Hall man - Christopher Raines - was apprehended and now will face multiple charges for the damages his vehicle did to the Joe Page Bridge, plus a host of other charges. Sheriff Heffington took Raines into custody in Kampsville with the assistance of the North Calhoun Fire Department creating a roadblock with fire engines.
Illinois Department of Transportation's Joseph Monroe described the damage by the driver as: "Seven gates in total: Four wooden secondary and three primary lighted fiberglass."
“The Joe Page Bridge is open; thank you to the workers involved,” Kampsville Mayor
Wade Gibson said.
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