Harrison Street bridge, viaduct reopen after 3 years of construction

The Harrison Street viaduct and bridge reopened Friday after being closed for more than three years of construction and delays that the city blames on the complexity of the project.

The city initially believed construction would take 1.5 years, according to a city bidding document from 2019. But the construction — which began May 2, 2022 — ended up taking nearly 3 1/2 years.

The project’s complexities stem from the active tracks near Chicago Union Station, a Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson told the Sun-Times.

“This location led to unique constraints and unforeseen impacts on the initial schedule,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The project crossed 18 active tracks and faced “unique constraints” that often required construction to be limited to nights or on weekends to avoid disrupting train services, the engineering firm in charge of the project, STV Inc., wrote in a blog post last year.

“The need to maintain continual access to the USPS property on the South Side and coordinate with the Old Post Office and its occupants have added additional layers of complexity,” the firm wrote.

The project replaced a bridge originally built in 1905 and viaduct made in 1921.

The city is also in the middle of rebuilding four Canal Street viaducts between Taylor Street and Madison Street that serve as the roof of Union Station.

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