DOWNTOWN — The Van Buren Street Bridge over the Kennedy Expy. is getting replaced, a lengthy project that will detour commuters for nearly a year.
Van Buren will be closed between Halsted and Desplaines streets starting Monday for the bridge replacement, transportation officials said Thursday. The closure will last till next summer, weather permitting.
The work is part of the extensive, $475-million overhaul of the Jane Byrne Interchange that connects the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways as well as Congress Parkway.
The new-and-improved Van Buren bridge will include "traffic signal, lighting and aesthetic improvements" once finished, the Illinois Department of Transportation said Thursday.
The city will detour westbound Van Buren traffic south on Desplaines, west on Harrison Street and north on Racine Avenue to get back on Van Buren.
Eastbound Van Buren traffic will be detoured north on Halsted, east on Jackson Boulevard and south on Desplaines to get back on Van Buren.
Pedestrians should use Jackson to the north, Halsted to the west and Desplaines to the east.
The broader Jane Byrne Interchange project is scheduled to be done in 2021, a state transportation spokeswoman said.
