Fullerton Bridge Serves as 'Beautiful Gateway' to Neighborhood

The Fullerton Parkway bridge over the Lincoln Park Lagoon has reopened to traffic, ending a season-long construction project that was part of the city's infrastructure investment program.

The Chicago Department of Transportation announced completion of the reconstruction on Friday afternoon. Part of the Building a New Chicago program, the $12 million project was paid for through the Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Officials, like Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton, have called the finished bridge a "beautiful gateway to the Lincoln Park neighborhood."

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“With this bridge project, we reconfigured the adjacent park paths to improve safety, improved drainage and landscaping in the park, and made critical traffic safety and signal improvements,” CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein said, in the announcement. “Importantly, we completed the project on time and on budget.”

The construction began in March. Throughout work, the city kept one lane of traffic in either direction and limited pedestrians to one sidewalk along Fullerton.

“The well-traveled Fullerton Parkway Bridge, which was originally built in 1940, needed to be replaced due to its deteriorated condition,” U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) said in a news release. “We now have a new bridge that will give Chicagoans more access to enjoy activities in Lincoln Park.”

The project included the following roadway, pedestrian, and park improvements:

• Construction of a new aesthetically pleasing bridge structure.
• Replication of the previous bridge’s art-deco façade to maintain historic character of Lincoln Park.
• Creation of a new 20-foot-wide pedestrian underpass west of the Lagoon.
• Installation of stainless steel railings to protect bicyclists and pedestrians. 
• Elimination of the center pier to enhance rowing activities in the Lagoon. 
• Routing of pedestrian traffic to the north side of the bridge for improved safety. 
• Improved drainage for pedestrian underpass.
• Reconfiguration of paths for ADA compliance to best accommodate all users. 
• Improved underpass and street lighting. 
• New traffic signals with synchronized timings east of Cannon Drive. 
• Fewer points of conflict with pedestrians .
• Additional approach lane to Lake Shore Drive southbound ramp to alleviate back-up on Fullerton.

Several trees were removed as part of the construction project, but will be replaced on a per-inch basis. A total of 122 new trees will be planted in the area to replace the ones removed, according to CDOT.

While the bridge is now fully open to vehicles and pedestrians, the landscaping and final touches won't wrap up until the spring of next year.  

“The project was developed in coordination with the Chicago Park District and local community groups to improve the overall parkland experience, especially with regards to pedestrian safety and traffic congestion,” said Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward). 

The multi-use trail underpass on the west side of the bridge will open on Dec. 21st after the lighting and final surface grading is complete, officials said.

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