CHICAGO – The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced that the final phase of the Navy Pier Flyover project has now entered the homestretch with the opening today of the Lakefront Trail over the Chicago River on the east sidewalk of the Lake Shore Drive Bridge. Work on the trail where it tunnels through the bridge houses on the east side of the bridge is continuing and is expected to be complete by April, weather permitting. 

With the opening of the new section over the Chicago River, the project now provides a continuous segment of the Lakefront Trail stretching for almost half a mile from Jane Addams Park and the Ohio Street Beach at the north end to the south side of the Chicago River. 

When work on the bridge houses is complete, the trail will be at least 16 feet wide for its full length. Until then, the trail narrows to about eight feet at the bridge houses. The northbound side of the new path will tunnel through the existing bridge houses in order to achieve the full 16-foot width.  

The Flyover portion of the project was opened in 2018 and provides a much-improved experience for users of the Lakefront Trail by carrying pedestrians, runners and cyclists over Grand and Illinois streets. This eliminated the at-grade street crossings and improved safety and the overall experience for all users.   

The third phase of project has involved retrofitting the existing Lake Shore Drive Bridge with a cantilever structure on the east side of the span to allow for widening the trail. The project also involves structural and mechanical repairs to the movable bascule bridge that was constructed in 1937. This structural work will continue through 2021. 

The current configuration of vehicle lanes on the bridge - in which northbound Lower LSD only provides access to northbound Upper LSD - is expected to remain in place until April. At that time, access will be restored from northbound Lower LSD to Illinois and Grand streets.