Could the 606’s Expansion Really Happen?
Projects come and projects go. That’s that nature of life in a big city, and the reason why we greet so many big projects with skepticism. There are certain content aggregators in town who immediately latch on to any e-mailed announcement and present it to their readers as if the project has merit, funding, and a chance in Hell of becoming reality. All it takes is a free blogging account sprinkled with buzzwords and pretty...
A Closer Look at Bronzeville’s New Pedestrian Connection
Editor’s Note: Earlier this month we told you that CDOT opened a new suspension bridge linking Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood with the Lake Michigan shore. For a closer look a the project, we turn to Chicago Architecture’s resident bridge expert, Patrick McBriarty. You’ve probably seen him on TV or heard him on the radio lately, as there are few people who know more about the city’s bridges. The long...
Spire Watchers On Alert, But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
Streeterville residents anxiously awaiting news about what will become of the curious lot at 400 North Lake Shore Drive have been on alert recently. That’s because some very sinister-looking tanks have recently appeared on the site that was, not so long ago, going to be the home of North America’s tallest building. Today that site is the home of Chicago’s largest light socket. Or deepest concrete swimming hole. Or...
31 Months In, Here’s What the Navy Pier Flyover Looks Like
From below, it still looks like segments of the bleached spine of a great sea monster washed up on the Chicago shoreline. But soon CDOT will finish assembling this serpentine collection of angles and curves into a new method of moving from north to south and south to north without setting dinosaurs on fire. The Navy Pier Flyover is well on its way to looking like the pedestrian, bicycle, Segway, pedicab, and...
Status Update: 35th Street Pedestrian Bridge Nearing Completion
The boot bridge bonding Bronzeville with the big blue beyond is nearing completion. The Chicago Department of Transportation posted the photo below on its Twitter feed, showing the single-cable suspension bridge snaking over Lake Shore Drive and the Canadian National railroad tracks. The old 1940’s-era bridge was a rusty, old, narrow steel box that was anything but inviting. It looked more appropriate for linking a couple of...
Loopside Chicago Riverwalk Extension Opens to the Public
If it wasn’t for a certain sporting event in Wrigleyville, the opening of the Loopside Chicago Riverwalk extension would have been the best thing that happened in Chicago over the weekend. But unlike the Northsiders going to the World Series, building the riparian extravaganza didn’t take seven decades. If you’ve been downtown in the last year or so, you probably have seen, walked, or even dined on the lovely and...
Fountain Tests and Fish Hotels Mark The Latest Chicago Riverwalk Progress
The latest phases of the Chicago Riverwalk project are really something to see these days. It’s the beginning of October, so there’s a certain urgency in the air to get things buttoned up before the sky fills with snow and the river becomes a manic jigsaw puzzle of ice. Loop Spy DJ splashed some new photos of the riverwalk construction in our tip line a few hours ago, and it’s good news for both kids and fish. Kids,...
Downtown Riverwalk Running Toward Completion
The Chicago Department of Transportation takes a lot of heat for things like potholes and plowing side streets. But when it comes to big infrastructure projects like bridges and bike lanes, it certainly does get shit done. One project that’s coming together much quicker than would seem possible is the new Chicago Riverwalk sections being built along the south side of the river’s main channel. It was less than three years...
Status Update: Navy Pier Flyover Flying Along
Work on the Navy Pier Flyover continues in the Streeterville neighborhood, as the Chicago Department of Transportation’s project to ease congestion on the Lakefront Trail moves forward. This summer’s work has been marked not only by the changing infrastructure along the trail, but also by intermittent street closures on Grand, Illinois, and Lake Shore Drive. The $60 million project got underway last spring, and completion...
World’s First Chicago-Type Drawbridge Undergoing Repair in Bucktown
The Cortland Street Bridge on Chicago’s north side crosses the Chicago River’s North Branch four miles above the mouth of the Chicago River at Lake Michigan. In 1982, the American Society of Civil Engineers recognized this bridge as an Engineering Landmark. It received Chicago Landmark status in 1991. To the frustration of area residents, this bridge has been closed to street traffic since June so the Chicago Department of...
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Fulton River District In Line For Another Skyscraper January 30, 2022 -
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