Well, there goes our straight line by bike from Bridgeport to Evanston for the next year. Starting this week, Halsted street is being rerouted for the next year as a new $27 million tied arch bridge will be constructed at Halsted near Goose Island to replace the current monstrosity that is a hell ride to cross by car, bicycle or foot. When the new bridge is completed, it'll have two lanes in either direction and dedicated bike lanes. Improved lighting will also be installed, and Halsted will be resurfaced from Division Street to North Branch. more ›

We were biking over to Montrose Beach last weekend and crossed under LSD at Lawrence. We saw what seemed to be a new set of struts, supports and ironwork under there and thought, "Good. Someone's doing something about these bridges." (We were in Minneapolis a week before I-35W collapsed last year. Drove right over it. We pay attention to these things now.) more ›

Governor Rod Blagojevich is using a new report that a quarter of bridges nationwide need expensive structural work to make the case for a capital construction budget in Illinois. “It is the first duty of government to provide for the public safety of its citizens,” said Blagojevich. “We’re going to make sure that the bridges they ride on, the bridges they drive on, the roads they travel on, will be safe.” He says he'd like to meet with legislators this week to hammer out a deal on the spending bill, and he wants House Speaker Mike Madigan to be present. "We'd like him to participate, and we sure would like to have him there. And I'd be happy to cut his apples for him and get him a cup of coffee," Blago told Chicago Public Radio. He then blamed Madigan for budget cuts and accused him of scheming to raise taxes. more ›

According to a report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, one out of every four US bridges is "deficient, either in need of repair or in need of widening to handle today's traffic." [AP, report] more ›

There are sixty bridges spanning the Chicago River throughout the city, as we found out last month at the annual B News neighborhood pub quiz. We know about the larger bridges downtown, and we stop to stare at them when the spans are raised to allow boats to pass. However, the majority of bridges spanning the river are smaller ones allowing traffic to pass between neighborhoods. We tend to overlook those bridges. This is one of them. more ›

After months of anticipation, the $21,400,000 suspension bridge that's gradually been taking form at North Avenue appears to be nearing completion. This morning, for the first time since construction began in mid-2006, traffic is actually passing over the bridge, instead of being diverted to the temporary bridge that sits just to the south. more ›