BLUFF SPRINGS – As part of the U.S. Postal Service’s downsizing, another small post office in midwestern Illinois is closing.

The post office serving Bluff Springs, an unincorporated community about 8 miles west of Virginia in Cass County, is scheduled to close Aug. 24, according to Tim Norman, strategic communications director for the U.S. Postal Service’s Illinois District. The building’s lease, which expires Aug. 31, was not renewed by the landlord, necessitating the action.

According to 2022 U.S. Census data, Bluff Springs Township has a population of 668 people. It is not yet determined whether the 62622 zip code will be retained.

The Postal Service will begin closing the Bluff Springs office on Aug. 22, and the office will close at the end of the business day on Aug. 24. Most residents’ letters will be rerouted through the Virginia post office and delivered by a rural Virginia carrier, Norman said.

Bluff Springs operated daily except Sundays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for several years after reducing operations from four hours per day.

The size of a location does not play a role in the closure of a post office, the Congressional Research Service explained in an analysis of how post office closures are determined.

Criteria the U.S. Postal Service considers include revenue from walk-in customers, alternative locations for picking up mail products, services such as grocery stores and pharmacies, and economic savings to the Postal Service.

Because of mounting losses, the postal service began closing and consolidating rural post offices in the early 1990s. There are currently no further closures planned in the region, Norman said.