CHICAGO, May 9, 2002 – A section of South Lake Shore Drive (Coast Guard Drive) in Jackson Park will return to its normal traffic configuration by mid-morning tomorrow (May 10), the Chicago Department of Transportation announced today.
Southbound Lake Shore Drive between Hayes Drive (6300 south) and Marquette Drive (6600 south) has been closed since January to facilitate the disassembly of the historic Animal Bridge. Southbound traffic currently detours along Hayes and Richards Drives, rejoining the Lake Shore Drive at Marquette.
All routes and adjacent parking lots will be completely open to traffic for the summer. In the fall, construction crews will return to Jackson Park to demolish and eventually rebuild the bridge with a new interior structure and restored exterior.
Construction work on other parts of the Drive north of Jackson Park will begin later this year and continue throughout the summer
The City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration are investing $162 million in the South Lake Shore Drive Reconstruction Project, with much of the funding coming from the Illinois FIRST program.
For more project information, please call 311 in Chicago or visit the project website at www.cityofchicago.org/Transportation.
