Chicagoland Route 66 expert David Clark sent me this fascinating time-lapse video of workers demolishing the Adams Street Bridge over the Kennedy Expressway, bit by bit, to make way for the Jane Byrne Interchange.
The entire demolition operation was completed in less than a month.
The video makes it appear traffic was going under part of the bridge as it was being razed, but Clark assured me there was a platform or deck underneath, plus moving lane closures, to keep debris from falling onto moving vehicles.
Adams Street is part of the westbound alignment of Route 66 in the Windy City.
Motorists are being detoured south on Desplaines, west on Van Buren Street and north on Halsted, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. That’s a relatively minor delay for Route 66 travelers.
The new bridge is scheduled to open in 2022.
Work on the interchange also has led to the closing and demolition of the Jackson Boulevard Bridge (eastbound Route 66) over the Kennedy Expressway.
(Screen-capture image from a video of the demolition of the Adams Street Bridge in Chicago)
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
That’s really cool!