POPLAR GROVE, Ill. (WTVO) — The trip, for those driving between Belvidere and Poplar Grove, will be a little easier now that the Poplar Grove Road bridge over Beaver Creek is reopened.

The bridge had been closed since Spring and has been fully replaced.

The reopening completes a 3-year, $5 million project to improve Poplar Grove Road.

Work began in 2020 with the replacement of the Kishwaukee River bridge.

Boone County Engineer Justin Krohn says the new bridge will be more convenient for the county’s farmers.

“The previous bridge was weight posted. So, farm implements and grain haulers were not able to use the bridge any longer. The previous bridge had a timber substructure. That timber substructure had decayed and it could no longer handle large truck traffic. So, the new bridge, this bridge opening up will be able to handle the truck traffic,” he said.

Seventy-five percent of the cost for the project came from federal and state grants.