Chicago Ave. Bridge demolition, reconstruction starts Thursday morning

The Chicago Avenue Bridge over the Chicago River will close Thursday morning for a full reconstruction project.

Chicago Avenue will close at 5 a.m. between Larrabee and Halsted streets to begin the demolition of the bascule bridge, which was built in 1914, according to a statement from the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Crews will demolish the old bridge and replace it with an interim bridge structure, a process that is expected to last about five months, CDOT said. The roadway is scheduled to reopen early next year, and construction and installation of the permanent bridge structure is expected to happen in 2021.

Marked detours will reroute bus, pedestrian and bicycle traffic along Halsted, Division and Larrabee, CDOT said. Non-local car traffic will be rerouted via LaSalle, Grand and Ashland for westbound drivers and via Ashland, Division and LaSalle for cars headed east. A separate detour will reroute trucks via Ashland, Division, Elston, Magnolia, North Avenue and Wells Street.

A shared curbside lane for buses and bikes will be installed along Halsted between Chicago and Division to mitigate the impact of the project on riders of the CTA’s No. 66 Chicago bus, CDOT said. Parking will be restricted in the area during the detour.