Chicago Avenue bridge won't fully reopen until spring 2027, CDOT tells the Council

The Chicago Avenue bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River won't be fully open to traffic until spring 2027, Chicago Department of Transportation officials told the City Council's budget committee Thursday. When the work began, the City said it would be done this December.

Why it matters: the bridge and the Halsted Street viaduct next to it have been closed to cars and people on foot since 2025. Drivers, bus riders and businesses between River West, West Town and River North have spent more than a year on detours, and several other downtown bridges have been closed at the same time.

Block Club Chicago reported the delay Friday. Our transcript of the 12-hour hearing has the details.

What CDOT said

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) asked when the bridge would reopen (watch at 6:13:18). A CDOT official answered that Halsted Street is set to open at the end of this year and that Chicago Avenue west of Halsted should open in December. The section east of Halsted, where the bridge is, is now scheduled for spring 2027 (watch at 6:14:15).

Reilly called that a six-month delay. The official said it was the schedule the contractor had given the department.

Asked why, Managing Deputy Commissioner Anne Zhang said the original schedule was "really aggressive." She said the job is "basically two major projects combined into one," the viaduct and the bridge. She said the department ran into problems with agreements with the railroad next to the site and was still negotiating temporary easements with neighboring property owners. Reilly asked her to name the property owners. Zhang said the department was working with numerous businesses but did not name any.

What members said

Reilly then described the department's handling of the bridge work as "completely and totally irresponsible and a massive bureaucratic failure." He said closing several bridges at once had created "a traffic disaster" and left aldermen coordinating with the CTA and other agencies to ease commutes. He said bridge closures rank among the top three complaints at his community meetings.

Ald. Walter "Red" Burnett (27th), whose ward includes the Chicago and Halsted intersection, said he learned of the new delay from a community group, not from CDOT (watch at 6:28:02). "Another year of this is just going to be impossible," he said. A CDOT official replied that the department would set up a meeting with him.

What our records add

What the department is asking for. CDOT's proposed 2027 budget is about $1.997 billion, according to the City Council Office of Financial Analysis presentation that opened the department's hearing (watch at 5:55:41). The Council votes on all department budgets together when it passes the 2027 budget, due by Dec. 31.

The other bridges. Block Club reported that the State Street bridge has reopened, the Lake Street bridge is set to fully reopen to vehicles by January 2028, and the Cortland Street bridge, closed to cars and buses since September 2025, is now planned for completion by the end of 2028. The Lake Street work closed the Green and Pink lines downtown this week, as we reported Oct. 26. Service was restored Thursday, according to Block Club.

Both members are on the 2027 ballot. Reilly faces one challenger, Block Club reported. Burnett is one of five candidates in the 27th Ward, which we look at in a separate story. Their records are on their ward pages: 27th Ward and 42nd Ward.

What's next

• End of 2026: Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue west of Halsted are due to reopen, according to CDOT.
• Spring 2027: Chicago Avenue east of Halsted, including the bridge.
• Nov. 4 to 10: budget hearings resume. CDOT officials told several members they would send written answers through the committee chair.

Sources: Chicago Politics: Oct. 29 budget hearing transcript (automatic captions).