LINCOLN SQUARE — A stretch of Lincoln Avenue that’s been closed off to vehicles for months will reopen this week, officers mentioned.
Lincoln Avenue between Leland and Eastwood avenues was closed to visitors in June as a part of building in Lincoln Sq.. Since then, Leland Avenue between Western and Lincoln avenues has been quickly transformed right into a one-way, westbound road.
Crews poured a quick-setting concrete over the weekend and early this week, with the purpose of reopening the road within the coming days, mentioned Josh Mark, chief of employees for Ald. Matt Martin (forty seventh).
“We urged the Division of Transportation to work double time to verify that there have been no additional delays within the reopening of that intersection,” Mark mentioned.
As of Tuesday afternoon, new concrete had been poured however vehicles weren’t but allowed by means of the intersection.
The intersection was initially anticipated to open earlier this month, however was delayed as a result of a metropolis water division situation, Mark mentioned.
As soon as the Lincoln and Leland intersection reopens, crews will begin work on the west facet of Western Avenue.
Crews will subsequent shift the present visitors sample from the west lane of Western to the east lane, flipping the present configuration. Sidewalks on the west facet will stay accessible, Mark mentioned.
Building close to the guts of Lincoln Sq. has been occurring for greater than two years. The renovations are in response to the 2019 Lincoln Sq. Grasp Plan, which recognized areas in want of infrastructure and aesthetic enhancements.
These enhancements embrace pedestrian and cyclist-friendly upgrades to the roads in addition to a brand new public plaza and upgraded CTA infrastructure.
The world went car-free completely between April 21 and Could 12, delighting many neighbors however irritating some native enterprise house owners.
Throughout building, crews additionally uncovered a set of metallic tracks and picket blocks buried below layers of asphalt that had been as soon as a part of the Lincoln Avenue streetcar system.
Steve Mascheri, CTA vp of capital building, mentioned in October the present part of building is predicted to proceed by means of the remainder of the 12 months.
For extra details about the development, go to the Chicago Division of Transportation’s interactive ChiStreetWork map.
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