The Chicago Department of Transportation closed a northbound stretch of the city’s famous Lake Shore Drive today, due to some sudden and severe structural damage to a roadway leading to Lake Shore. And by severe structural damage, they mean, holy shit the road is cracking.
Some CDOT employees noticed a cracked steel support beam of a bridge leading to Lake Shore Drive this morning while working in the area. The department deemed the cracked a structural emergency, and closed a section of Lake Shore Drive from Monroe Drive to Grand avenue, NBC Chicago reports:
A crack in a steel beam that supports the roadway was discovered by a CDOT crew in the area, according to officials. No injuries or damage to vehicles had been reported as of Monday afternoon, CDOT said.
Crews were working to “install a shoring tower as quickly as possible under the viaduct structure that carries northbound Lake Shore Drive,” Ald. Brendan Reilly said in an email to residents.
Southbound traffic is unaffected, but northbound commuters are being urged to seek alternative routes because of, you know, the giant crack. Officials told NBC Chicago that the closure could extend beyond today, again, because of that whole crack thing. Workers are now installing a shoring tower as quickly as possible to support the crumbling section of bridge. The one with the crack.
Lake Shore Drive is an expressway that runs north-south between the shores of Lake Michigan and Chicago’s downtown. It offers some beautiful views of the lake, but the road bears the brunt of some of the worst weather the Great Lakes have to offer. Add to that heavy traffic use and you have a potential disaster. Luckily, no one was hurt in this structural emergency.
And by that, we mean that big old crack.