Traffic Alert: The Adams Street Bridge Is Closing For 13 Months
By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 25, 2016 4:56PM
Get ready for a major bridge closure in the Loop. The Adams Street Bridge, which runs over the South Branch of the Chicago River, will close after rush hour on Monday and won't open again for about 13 months, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced in a statement.
One of the busiest areas of the city, the bridge connects the Loop to Union Station. Pedestrians will still be able to walk over the bridge to the transportation hub with the exception of a couple of 30-day closures and some occasional nights and weekends.
Some improvements will come from this huge inconvenience: "reconstruction of the existing viaduct structure over the Union Station tracks, improvements to the Adams Street and Canal Street intersection, new street lighting and traffic signals, improved roadway drainage, and structural and electrical improvements to the Adams Street Bascule Bridge," CDOT officials said in their statement.
It's not yet clear how this will affect traffic (and it probably will) but CDOT has set up some detours, according to their statement:
Westbound traffic will be detoured to Wacker and motorists may go south to Van Buren or north to Madison to continue westbound across the river. Once on the west side of the river, they should use Jefferson (from Van Buren) or Clinton (from Madison) to return to westbound Adams Street.
The west end of the bridge is a major drop-off and pick-up spot for Union Station so CDOT is adding to new areas, "on the curb of Jackson, between Canal and Clinton, and the curb of Adams, between Canal and Clinton," authorities said.