Chicago Avenue Bridge Reopening Delayed To Next Spring As Alderman Fumes

RIVER WEST — Construction on the temporarily closed Chicago Avenue bridge will now run through spring 2027, the leader of the city s transportation department said Thursday — a delay from an earlier projection that had it wrapping up by the end of this year. It s the latest in a series of bridge-related issues that have contributed to widespread congestion and logistical headaches for Chicagoans on the North Side and Downtown in recent years. Meanwhile, the Halsted Street viaduct — part of the larger rehabilitation project at and near the Chicago/Halsted intersection — is still on track to reopen later this year, William Cheaks, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, told alderpeople Thursday. News of the partial reopening did little to appease Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who lacerated CDOT leaders Thursday during a larger budget hearing for the department at City Hall. Last year, Reilly described concurrent bridge closures Downtown and on the North