CHICAGO – The Chicago Department of Transportation announced that work is commencing on construction of a new, fully accessible pedestrian and bike bridge over the railroad tracks and South Lake Shore Drive at 43^rd Street on Monday, November 30. The first step will be the closure of the existing, non-ADA accessible pedestrian bridge ahead of the demolition of the old structure. Neighborhood residents will be able use the new pedestrian and bike bridge at 41^st Street or the underpass and bridge at 47^th Street to access Burnham Park and the lakefront during the two-year project. 

The new replacement bridge will feature a similar, curving, S-shaped design to the new companion bridge at 41^st Street that opened in 2018. It will be fully ADA accessible with ramps to accommodate bicycles, wheel chairs and emergency vehicles. The new bridge is expected open for use at the end of 2022. 

The 43^rd Street project is the fourth of five bridge projects undertaken by CDOT to improve access to the lakefront on the city’s South Side. A new suspension bridge for pedestrians and bikes at 35th Street opened in November 2016. It replaced an outmoded, non-ADA accessible pedestrian bridge that was similar to the one being replaced at 43^rd Street. Last year, CDOT completed the reconstruction of the vehicular bridge over the railroad tracks at Oakwood Boulevard/39^th Street. A fifth project expected to start in late 2021 will reconstruct the vehicular bridge over the railroad tracks at 31^st Street. 

The spans at 41^st Street and 43^rd Street are designed by AECOM with Cordogan, Clark & Associates and were developed in coordination with the Chicago Park District. The inclined arch mono-truss structures support large, graceful S-curves that echo the curves of the walkways in Burnham Park. The prime contractor is FH Paschen. 

As part of the project, the 43^rd Street Playlot in Burnham Park will be removed and replaced with an all new playlot. 

### 

You can follow CDOT on digital media:                                                                               
Twitter:  @ChicagoDOT/                                                                                                                  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CDOTNews                                                                                               
The web: www.chicagodot.org