Dearborn Bridge up next for Riverwalk construction

Bridge closed June 24-30

(Above) This photo taken by CDOT on June 18 shows what it looks like from the river of work being done below the Clark Street Bridge – while it is open. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

20-Jun-14 – The Dearborn Street Bridge is next. It will be raised and then closed to traffic for seven days, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced on Friday.

The bridge will close on Tuesday, June 24, at 7 a.m. and open by 8 p.m. on Monday, June 30.

The bridge needs to be open so that workers building the Chicago Riverwalk can install caissons underneath the bridge. The caissons are 72 feet long, six feet in diameter, and filled with concrete and a steel rebar.

(Above) How traffic will be detoured – vehicles in orange and bicycles in green. Pedestrians will need to look both ways when crossing Dearborn, as the normally one-way street will be two-way between the bridge and Kinzie Street.

During the week of June 22, workers will continue back-filling the 25-foot gap between the old concrete river wall and the new steel wall. As crushed stone goes into the space, water comes out. The water is filtered and then returned to the Chicago River.

(Left) Three kayaks pass a crane on a construction barge back-filling on June 14 between State and Dearborn Streets. The crane scoops crushed stone from the barge and deposits it into the light green water behind the barge. In the background, smaller excavators continue to remove old concrete.

The State Street Bridge will be closed for about a week in mid-July.

Materials for the Riverwalk are being brought in at night so as not to interrupt boat traffic on the river. CDOT and Walsh Construction took the suggestion at a recent meeting with the Chicago Harbor Safety Committee.

• Previous story: Riverwalk work continues underneath Clark Street Bridge
• More photos: Construction of the Chicago Riverwalk