CHICAGO — The Navy Pier Flyover added a new section as crews Monday opened bike and running lanes on Lower Lake Shore Drive over the Chicago River.
The Flyover now provides a continuous stretch from Ohio Street Beach to the south side of the river. The new section sits on the east side sidewalk of Lower Lake Shore Drive.
Construction is still underway on the path at the river’s bridge houses. The plans call for tunneling through the old structures to create a 16-foot-wide berth. That work is expected to be completed in April, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The latest part of the flyover widens the path atop the bridge to 16 feet. Crews cantilevered the bridge over the river to create the extra space, officials said. The project also calls for structural and mechanical repairs to the movable bascule bridge that was built in 1937.
Work on the Flyover, which began in 2014, has been plagued by delays. The path was to be completed in 2018. Crews did complete the most critical part of the Flyover that year — the section that carries bicyclists and runners over Grand Avenue west of Navy Pier. Eliminating that bottleneck, which forced trail users to wait at a stoplight, was a key focus of the design.
Drivers who use Lower Lake Shore Drive can’t celebrate the completion of the bridgework just yet. The Chicago Department of Transportation said the existing configuration of lanes over the river will remain in place at least through April.
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