LINCOLN PARK — Construction on the Fullerton Parkway Bridge that connects much of Lincoln Park to the lakefront and Lake Shore Drive was completed Friday.
The heavily traveled stretch of roadway had been squeezed down to one lane of traffic in each direction since March as the Chicago Department of Transportation reconstructed the bridge over the Lincoln Park Lagoon.
The $12 million project replaced the bridge, which was originally built in 1940, and created a 20-foot-wide pedestrian underpass west of the lagoon. The new bridge also features a steel railing to protect bicyclists and pedestrians who frequently use the bridge to access the lakefront path. An additional approach lane to enter southbound Lake Shore Drive was added to alleviate traffic on Fullerton.
The project required crews to remove several trees from the site, but the city plans on planting 122 new ones to replace the trees on a per-inch basis, according to CDOT.
"With this bridge project, we reconfigured the adjacent park paths to improve safety, improved drainage and landscaping in the park, and made critical traffic safety and signal improvements," said CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein in a news release. "Importantly, we completed the project on time and on budget."
