CHINATOWN — Motorists and cyclists, consider this your warning.
The 18th Street bridge will close Wednesday for a major reconstruction project, forcing detours onto some already-clogged streets. It will be closed through April 1.
Local drivers on Clark and Canal streets looking to cross the river will be sent south to the Cermak Road and Archer Avenue corridors, right through the heart of Chinatown.
Northbound and southbound cyclists, meanwhile, will be detoured to Canal or Wabash Avenue and can cross the river at the Roosevelt Road bridge.
Built in 1967, the bascule bridge will rebuilt with a new roadway and sidewalks, a repaired truss, new floor beams, lateral bracing and upgraded electricity, according to a news release from the city's transportation department.
The $5.4 million project will be paid for using tax increment financing and is part of a series of infrastructure projects across the city.
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