ChiTown Traffic Tattler

I’m sure motorists & commuters in the know were eagerly awaiting this month’s re-opening of the inbound side of the 335-foot Congress Parkway bridge. Alas, the opening of the bridge — closed for reconstruction in April 2010 — has been delayed…Until September.

From Jon Hilkevitch in the Chicago Tribune:

Delays in manufacturing and delivering bridge deck panels have led to delays. It will also delay the start of work on the Congress Parkway north bridge, which carries outbound traffic, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

To make matters worse for commuters, reconstruction of the outbound side of the Congress Parkway bridge won’t begin until the inbound side is completed. Which means the entire reconstruction — which was scheduled for completion in October, won’t be finished until 2012.

Delays in manufacturing and delivering bridge deck panels have led to delays on completing the south span of the Congress Parkway bridge. As a result, the entire project -- scheduled to be completed this fall -- won't be completed until the fall of 2012, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Of course, the re-construction project will go a long way in rehabbing a bridge that has been deemed — structurally — one of the worst-rated bridges in Chicago.

In its August 2009 inspection, the Congress Parkway bridge received an overall rating of 2, which according to the IDOT Web site left it “intolerable and a high priority for replacement.”

Sigh now commuters. Breathe later.