Chicago Avenue, bridge, to undergo months of repair

Staff reports

Chicago Avenue Bridge repairs

The Chicago Avenue Bridge over the north branch of the Chicago River will close on Nov. 1 and part of the street will undergo repairs for months.

The old bridge, built in 1914, will be replaced with a new bridge that will be better able to suit pedestrian, vehicle and bike traffic.

The project will require Chicago Avenue to close between Larrabee and Halsted Streets. The entire project is expected to last five months but the roadway on Chicago Avenue is expected to reopen by the end of 2018.

Marked detours will direct bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists to new routes.

A temporary shared bus-bike lane will be installed on Halted Street between Chicago Avenue on Division Street to maintain effective service of the CTA bus route 66.

The final phase of the project will involve installing new lighting on the road.

License plate readers

In an attempt to reduce the number of carjackings and improve the speed at which stolen vehicles can be identified and recovered, the Chicago Police Department will expand its use of license plate reader technology.

At least 200 more CPD patrol cars will have the technology as part of a city-wide effort to prevent violent crimes

Street Lighting outages

Throughout the October, Alderman Brian Hopkins noted that a significant increase in street light outages had been noticed in the Second Ward and that his office is working to improve the speed at which outed lights are fixed.

Outages are usually caused by vandals pulling out the copper wiring of the lights, system shortages, squirrels, and nearby LED installations that can affect vapor lights.

In his newsletter, Hopkins said his office is “constantly communicating” with CDOT and that he has spoken with the CDOT Commissioner to address concerns that some all-light outages have taken up to a week to repair when repairs are supposed to be completed within 48-hours.