State Street bridge closing for emergency repairs through November

The State Street bridge over the Chicago River is set to close for seven months of emergency repairs, following a recent inspection that found parts of the bridge in poor condition.

The full closure is scheduled from April 28, through mid-November, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced Friday.

The department was planning to repair the bridge later, but an inspection this year uncovered “deterioration” that prompted the emergency repairs, CDOT spokesperson Erica Schroeder said in an email.

Crews will repair floor beams and other parts of the bridge that have been damaged by extreme heat, she said. The repairs will improve the alignment between the two bridge leaves. Viaducts on the north side of the river must also be repaired.

The Riverwalk, which passes under the south end of the bridge, will remain open during construction, Schroeder said.

“Impacts to the Riverwalk are expected to be minimal, as the majority of work will take place in the center of the bridge,” she said.

Traffic will be diverted west to Dearborn and Clark streets.

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The bridge, constructed in 1949 and rebuilt in 1994, was found to be “structurally deficient” during an inspection in September 2024, according to public records posted by the state’s transportation department.

“Structurally deficient” does not mean the bridge is unsafe to use. But it does mean that load-bearing parts of the bridge are in “poor or worse condition due to deterioration and/or damage,” according to the state transportation department.

The same inspection noted that the bridge’s deck was in “fair condition,” with minor section loss and cracks, but labeled the upper part of the bridge to be in “poor condition” with “advanced deterioration.”

The results were the same in the previous inspection in September 2022.

An inspection in September 2020 found the substructure to be in “serious condition,” though more recent inspections listed it as “fair.” The state inspects most bridges every two years, at least.

Nearly 7,000 vehicles pass over the bridge daily, about a tenth of them trucks, according to a recent inspection filed with the state.