42nd Ward Traffic Closures & Construction Projects

Grand Avenue Bridge Project:

The Chicago Department of Transportation is replacing the black rubber mats on the sidewalks on both sides of the Grand Avenue Bridge. Repairs are expected to be completed by mid-August.

Crane Lift: 153 W Ohio

Stevenson Crane was hired to lift cell equipment onto the roof of 153 W Ohio Street. The lift will occur on Saturday, July 29 (Back-up day July 30), from 8am to 4pm. 

During the lift, the following will be closed:

• 100' of sidewalk in front of 153 W Ohio
• 100' of curb lane in front of 153 W Ohio
• 100' of two traffic lanes in front of 153 W Ohio

The curb lane on the northside of Ohio will be posted NPTZ and used for eastbound traffic.

Utility openings on North Water Street: Related Midwest Test Holes

Related Midwest will be digging test holes at the following locations/dates/times:

1. North Water Street, from McClurg to first cul-de-sac east thereof – Monday, July 31^st thru Wednesday, August 2^nd . 8am to 4pm
2. Related Midwest Property – Wednesday, August 2^nd to Friday, August 4^th. 8am to 4pm

Traffic flow will be maintained throughout the project.

Helicopter Lift: Merchandise Mart

On Sunday, July 30, from 9am to 11am there will be a helicopter lift at the Merchandise Mart. During the lift, the following will be closed:

• Orleans, from Merchandise Mart Way to Wacker Drive
• Merchandise Mart Way, from Orleans to Wells

Residents at Wolf Point will be able to access their parking garages throughout the lift.

PGL River North Project

Peoples Gas plans to begin a gas main project in River North. PGL will be working at the following locations:

• Franklin, from Huron to Chicago
• Superior, from Wells to Orleans
• Chicago, from Orleans to LaSalle

The project is expected to begin at the end of July. It will be completed at the end of 2023.

Maggie Daley Summer Camp Drop-off

Due to the Randolph Street viaduct project, CDOT placed a temporary pick-up/drop-off area on the south side of Randolph, between Field and Harbor for Summer Camp at Maggie Daley Park. During the 30 minute drop-off and pick-up periods, CDOT will have barricades and traffic control in-place to help direct traffic.

One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained at all times on Randolph, from Field to Harbor.

This traffic configuration will be in-place until August 4, 2023.

15 E Oak Street: Facade Project:

Early this week, a facade project began at 15 E Oak Street. Throughout the project, the sidewalk on the south side of Oak, from State to Rush will be closed. A protected pedestrian walkway will be in-place in the curb lane.

The project is expected to be completed October 2023.

120 E Oak Street Facade Project

Summit Design + Build will begin a facade project at 120 E Oak Street on Tuesday, May 30. Works hours will be Monday thru Saturday, from 8am-5pm.  

Throughout the project, the sidewalk adjacent to the building will be closed. It will be covered by construction fencing. Pedestrians will be pushed to a protected pedestrian path in the curb lane.

Deliveries will occur between before 9am and debris will be removed between 8am-9am. There will be a gate at the east end of the fencing for deliveries and debris removal.

The project will be completed in early November.

Peoples Gas Project: Clark and Adams

PGL began work on Clark (Monroe to Jackson) and Adams (LaSalle to Clark) earlier this month. There will be temporary lane closures on Clark and Adams during permit hours but traffic will be maintained at all times. 

Work days/hours are Monday-Saturday, from 8am-5pm. This project is expected to be completed in October 2023.

Murphy Auditorium Renovation

Driehaus Museum purchased the Murphy Auditorium at 50 E Erie and plans to begin renovations in June. Work hours are Monday-Friday, from 8-4pm. They plan to complete the following interior alterations:

• Offices are going to be renovated
• Stage has sunken – leveled out; fix accessibility issue
• New elevator to go all the way to the top floor

Throughout the project, the following will be in-place:

• Pedestrian canopy over the sidewalk in front of 50 E Erie
• 100' of curb lane will be closed in front of 50 E Erie for material deliveries and small crane

They will need to use a small crane periodically throughout the project to lift materials onto the roof that can't fit through the doorway. Driehaus will notify us in advance of installation of a small crane. 

Dearborn Street Bridge:

Due to equipment and material procurement problems, the Dearborn Street Bridge project will be completed in September 2023 (weather dependent). One lane of traffic will remain open at all times.

431 N Dearborn Façade Project

Crane construction began a façade project at 431 N Dearborn this week. Throughout the project, the sidewalks adjacent to the building on Dearborn and Hubbard will be closed. Pedestrians are directed to walk in projected pedestrian walkways in the curb lanes.

The project is expected to be completed in October 2023 (weather dependent).

225 W Randolph Renovation:

The Onni Group began renovating 225 W Randolph. Throughout the project, there will be pedestrian canopies at the following locations:

• South side of Randolph, from Franklin to the first alley east thereof
• East side of Franklin, from Randolph to the first alley south thereof

This project is expected to be completed July 2024.



151 N Michigan:

Power Construction installed a tower crane on Beaubien Court for the project at 151 N Michigan Avenue. While the crane is in place, Beaubien Court, from a point 23' north of Randolph Street, to a point 100' north thereof will be closed to vehicular traffic. The crane will be in-place for 8-10 weeks.

The following will be closed throughout the duration of the project:

• Sidewalk on the north side of Randolph, from Beaubien Court to Michigan Avenue
• Sidewalk on the east side of Michigan, from Randolph, to a point 100' north thereof
• Beaubien Court, from Randolph to a point 100' north thereof

Pedestrians will be directed to use projected walkways that are placed in the curb lanes on Randolph and Michigan. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2023.

Temporary Bus Stop Elimination

Until March 2024, the westbound bus stop at Grand and St. Clair will be temporarily removed.

• Stop ID Number: 761
• Route Stopping: #29 – State, #65 – Grand, #120 – Ogilvie/Streeterville Express, #121 – Union/Streeterville Express

Randolph Street Viaduct Repair

CDOT will be performing repairs at Randolph Street Viaduct (East bound lanes only) between Columbus Dr. and Field Blvd.

Scope of Work:

The project consists of performing the following repairs: Concrete deck repairs, street paving.

Construction Schedule:

7:00 am - 6:00pm Monday to Saturday, April 10^th  - September 30^th 2023.

No demolition or other excessive noise creating activity will begin until after 8:00am.

Traffic Impact during Construction:

• The Randolph Street Viaduct east bound lanes will have one lane open to traffic at all times and one lane closed for construction at both the upper and intermediate levels between Columbus Dr. and Field Blvd. At least one sidewalk will remain open to pedestrian traffic.
• All parking on east bound Randolph St. will be removed between Columbus Dr. and Field Blvd.
• West bound lanes will be open at all times during construction with the exception of single night closures (Dates are TBD and updates will be provided).
• Access to Millenium Parking Garage and Maggie Daley Park will be limited to entrances at the Columbus Dr./Randolph St. Intersection and Field Blvd./Randolph St. Intersection. Elevator/ADA access to the garage will be maintained.

State & Lake Utility Relocations

Utility companies began relocating utilities in advance of the State and Lake CTA project. Train services will not be disrupted during utility relocations. 

At least 1 lane of traffic will remain open (1 lane each direction on State St) at all times, but other driving and parking lanes may be closed. 

Construction equipment and materials will be stored on the street, including during time periods between active work. Work will primarily occur 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays and 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Saturdays, but there will be limited work during nights. Utility companies are aware of and required to abide by the Chicago noise ordinance, which limits noisy work during overnight hours.

150 E Ontario Construction

W.E. O'Neil began construction of a 23-story building at 150 East Ontario Street. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm (8pm during caisson pours). Some weekend work will occur.  

Throughout the project, the following will be closed:

• 150' of sidewalk in front of 150 East Ontario
• 150' of curb lane in front of 150 East Ontario 

Pedestrians will be directed to the sidewalk on the south side of the street at Ontario/Michigan and Ontario/St. Clair. The entire project is expected to take 23 months to complete. 

Chase Tower Clark Street Tunnel Project

In mid-July, Berglund Construction began repairs on the Chase Tower Clark Street tunnel at 23 S. Clark Street. The project scope consists of repairing Chase’s below-grade tunnel structures that cross below Clark Street at 23 S. Clark St, and will require excavation of Clark Street in that area to access the tunnel structures to perform repairs.

There will be one lane of southbound traffic open at all times. Berglund will have flaggers and barricades in-place throughout the project. 

The project will last 26 months. Berglund would like to begin mid-June. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 8am-5pm.

535 N. St. Clair Street Project

Demolition of 535 N St. Clair is completed. LendLease has mobilized for construction and they have began pouring caissons. Throughout the project, there will be a protected pedestrian canopy on the north side of Grand, from St. Clair to a point 100' east thereof. The entire project is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024.

Cassidy Tire Construction 

Construction of the 33-story mixed-use building is underway. Throughout construction, McHugh Constriction will occupy the curb lane on the west side of Canal along 344/350 N. Canal Street's property line. The construction company has leased the area north of the building from the railroad to use as a staging area. Additionally, they will use the parking lot south of the building as a staging area too.

As a reminder, this project is contributing to numerous public benefits. Click here for a list of public benefits, and stay tuned to Reilly Reports for future updates on this project and the implementation of these public benefits.  All work is expected to take 24 months to complete (weather dependent).

311 W Huron Project

In June, ARCO Murray began construction of a new building at 311 W. Huron Street. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm (8pm during caisson pours). Throughout the project, the following City right-of-way will be occupied:

• Sidewalk/curb lane on the south side of Huron, from Franklin west to the end of 311 W Huron's property line - approximately 150'. The sidewalk will be used to store their concrete pump, dumpster, and hoist dock. Trucks will back into the site at this location too. Jersey barriers will be placed in the curb lane to create a protected pedestrian path.
• 3' of the sidewalk on the west side of Franklin, from Huron to the first alley south thereof. This leaves 6' of clearance. They will need to push the fence out a few feet during excavation.
• 150' of the east/west alley bounded by Huron, Franklin, Erie, and Orleans will be closed. The closure is from Franklin to a point 150' west thereof. 

The project is expected to be completed in September 2023 (weather dependent). 

214 West Erie Street Renovations

On Monday, December 13, Crane Construction began renovations of 214 West Erie Street. During construction, the following will be closed:

• Sidewalk/curb lane in front of 214 West Erie Street. The curb lane will be used as a pedestrian walkway. Crane Construction will place jersey barriers and ramps in the curb lane to protect pedestrians and provide wheelchair access. 
• Close 100' of the north/south alley adjacent to 214 W Erie Street. This is a T alley and residents of 222 W Erie will still be able to access their parking garage from the alley entrance on Franklin and Huron.

This project is expected to be completed in early 2023 (weather dependent).

LG Construction: 751 N. Hudson and 451 W Chicago 

LG Construction continues work on 751 N. Hudson Avenue and 451 W. Chicago Avenue, which are adjacent parcels. Work hours will be 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday.

Throughout the project, the following will be closed:

• Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane of the east side of Hudson, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
• Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane on the west side of Sedgwick, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
• Sidewalk/curb lane on the south side of Chicago, from Hudson to Sedgwick

There will be a protected pedestrian walkway in the curb lane on the south side of Chicago Avenue, from Hudson Avenue to Sedgwick Street.

This project is expected to take 18 months to complete (weather dependent). 

354 North Union Construction

The Onni Group is constructing a 33-story residential building with 373 units. Work hours will be 8am-8pm, daily. 

Parking will be prohibited on North Union, from West Kinzie to the cul-de-sac west thereof throughout the project. All construction equipment and vehicles will be staged on the Onni Group’s property. This project will take approximately two years to complete. 

Street Sweeping

During street sweeping season (April 1 to mid-November) the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation uses mechanical street sweepers to remove debris and litter from streets, weather permitting. Throughout the season, DSS deploys mechanical street sweepers at regularly scheduled times to clear debris from Chicago streets. Starting this week, dozens of street sweepers have begun clearing the debris and leaves that have accumulated during winter months on both residential and arterial streets. 

On weekdays, from 9am to 2pm, this Sweeper Tracker map will show real-time locations of city street sweepers. For more information, please review the 42nd Ward Map and street sweeping schedule. Residents can also call 311 to find the dates and locations of street sweeping in their area.

Please check for the bright orange signs announcing temporary parking restrictions. These signs are posted two days prior to scheduled street sweeping events. Some streets also have permanently posted signs that specify a once-per-week period when parking is prohibited for street sweeping.

Kennedy Expressway Bridge Rehabilitation

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began rehabilitation of the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90/94), from the Edens Expressway (Interstate 94) junction to West Ohio Street

The project consists of rehabilitating 36 bridge structures and the Reversible Lane Access Control (REVLAC) system, replacing overhead sign-structures, installing new signage and modernized LED lights, pavement patching and structural painting. Additionally, Hubbard’s Cave, from Grand Avenue to Wayman Street, will be painted and new LED lighting installed.

This project will take place over three consecutive construction seasons and consist of three stages. The following will occur during stage one:

Stage I - Inbound Kennedy

To help minimize the impact to traffic the reversible express lanes will remain open in the inbound direction, while two mainline inbound lanes will be closed at a time. Motorists should expect lane shifts and overnight lane closures and various ramp closures. Later this summer, painting and installation of new LED lighting will begin on inbound Hubbard's Cave, between Ohio and Lake streets. Construction is anticipated to be completed later this fall, with all lanes and ramps reopening and the express lanes resuming normal operations.

Please click here to learn more about the Kennedy Expressway Bridge Rehabilitation, and stay tuned to Reilly Reports for future updates.