Michigan Avenue Bridge Stuck

Today was the first day of the Chicago River’s bridge lift season, and both river and vehicle traffic was disrupted when the Michigan Avenue bridge failed to open. The center lock on the bridge was unable to open. After about an hour, crews were able to get the northern half of the bridge to open so sailboats could pass. Traffic was flowing again at 2:20 p.m.

The bridge lifting is set to take place two days a week through June and will affect downtown traffic between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Lifts usually take 8 to 10 minutes each, according to the department.

The Department of Transportation has the complete bridge lift schedule posted on the Web. [Trib]