Parts Of Lake Shore Drive To Close Later This Week For Bridge Work
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As crews continue building a new pedestrian bridge spanning Lake Shore Drive, parts of the roadway will be closed for several hours overnight on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, to install massive structural beams.
Last summer, the city broke ground on a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Lake Shore Drive at 41st Street. Several blue support beams have since gone up, and Illinois Department of Transportation crews have been hauling in more bridge parts in from Missouri.
IDOT said oversize trucks are hauling the beams along parts of Interstate 270, Illinois Highways 255, 111, 140, Intestates 55, 72, and 57, U.S. Route 30, Illinois Route 394, Interstate 94, Stony Island Avenue, Cornell Drive, 57th Street, and Lake Shore Drive on Monday. The trucks will block most of the roadway as they make their way to the project site.
The trucks will arrive in Cook County around 9 p.m. Monday on Interstate 57 before heading to the work site on Lake Shore Drive.
The Chicago Department of Transportation said the southbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive will be closed from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday to install structural beams for the bridge. Northbound lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Saturday. Traffic in both lanes will be blocked from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Southbound traffic will be detoured west on Oakwood Boulevard, south on Cottage Grove Avenue, and east on 47th Street back to Lake Shore Drive while the southbound lanes are closed. Northbound traffic will be detoured west on 47th Street, north on Cottage Grove Avenue, and east on Oakwood Boulevard back to Lake Shore Drive.
The $28.7 million bridge will be the second new pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning the south end of Lake Shore Drive since the 35th Street bridge opened in November 2016.
The 41st Street bridge will connect Williams-Davis Park to Oakwood Beach with a curving span that is fully accessible, with ramps for bicycles and wheelchairs.
Emergency vehicles also will be able to use the bridge to get to and from the lakefront.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The city also plans to later replace an existing footbridge over Lake Shore Drive at 43rd Street. The existing bridge there is not wheelchair or bicycle accessible. The city expects to begin construction on that bridge next year.
