City officials have raised the Wabash Avenue bridge Tuesday evening in a preemptive move to ward off election-night unrest near Trump Tower.
The bridge has been shut down “as part of a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of residents,” said Mary May, spokeswoman for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The bridge could be seen raised about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. The strategy was employed multiple times this summer in attempts to keep the downtown area safe from looting during protests against police brutality and violence.
May noted the city does not plan to block off any other bridges into downtown.
“All other streets, bridges and CTA stops in the downtown area remain accessible at this time,” May said. “No other bridges are expected to be out of service and there are currently no planned street closures in the downtown area.”
However, the city still plans on raising each bridge from Lake Shore Drive to Ashland Avenue in succession Wednesday morning for the regularly scheduled sailboat run, starting at 9:30 a.m., May said.
