Feb. 17--The Chicago Avenue Bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River will be closed for emergency repairs during regular work hours until the weekend, according to city officials.
The bridge will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, according to a release from the city's Transportation Department. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to use the bridge during the closures, while one lane of traffic will be open in each direction for cars the rest of the day, according to the release.
"The closures are needed to make repairs to the grating on the bridge deck and to the supporting beams," according to the release. "Traffic on the bridge was reduced to one lane in each direction (Tuesday) after inspectors determined the repairs were necessary."
The No. 66/Chicago Avenue bus will be rerouted during the day, with eastbound buses rerouted at Halsted Street, going north to Division Street, and going back south to Chicago at Larrabee Street. Buses heading west will follow the reverse route. For more information, check the CTA's website.
About 18,500 vehicles travel over the bridge daily, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The Chicago Avenue Bridge was opened in 1914 as part of a wave of bridge-building after the federal government required Chicago to remove numerous center-pier swing bridges, which were anchored in the middle of the river and rotated to allow river traffic. The U.S. secretary of war ordered the previous Chicago Avenue Bridge and others like it removed because the swing bridges were considered an obstruction to river traffic, according to the Historic American Buildings Survey.
