CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The city shared details during a virtual public meeting about planning for another new bridge over Lake Shore Drive, the fourth providing better access to the lakefront on the South Side.
Construction of a new, fully accessible pedestrian and bike bridge over the railroad tracks and South Lake Shore Drive at 43rd Street has begun.
The bridge, which would replace the current 43rd Street bridge leading into Burnham Park, was announced on Nov. 27, 2020. Since then, the Chicago Department of Transportation has begun preparing the old bridge for demolition, or deconstruction. The entire process is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
In the meantime, neighborhood residents will be able use the new pedestrian and bike bridge at 41st Street or the underpass and bridge at 47th Street to access Burnham Park and the lakefront.
The new replacement bridge will feature a similar, curving S-shaped design to the new companion bridge at 41st Street that opened in 2018. It will be fully ADA accessible with ramps to accommodate bicycles, wheel chairs and emergency vehicles.
The current bridge is accessible only by stairs, which is not ADA compliant, and not easy for cyclists.
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The 43rd Street project is the fourth of five bridge projects undertaken by CDOT to improve access to the lakefront on the city’s South Side.
A new suspension bridge for pedestrians and bikes at 35th Street opened in November 2016. It replaced an outmoded, non-ADA accessible pedestrian bridge that was similar to the one being replaced at 43rd Street. In 2019, CDOT completed the reconstruction of the vehicular bridge over the railroad tracks at Oakwood Boulevard/39th Street. A fifth project expected to start in late 2021 will reconstruct the vehicular bridge over the railroad tracks at 31st Street.
As part of this project, the 43rd Street Playlot in Burnham Park will be removed and replaced with an all new playlot.
The cost - $31.5 million - is being covered by the state and federal governments, CDOT said.