New Halsted Street bridge designed for future Chicago River trail

You may have heard that the Halted Street bridge over the Chicago River’s North Branch Canal is currently closed for reconstruction and the new bridge will include bike lanes in both directions. But did you know that at river level, the new bridge will also include 34-foot-wide underpass tunnels on each side of the river (via Curbed Chicago), which would accommodate the eventual extension of the Chicago Riverwalk?

It’s very encouraging to see the city implementing its river plans and demonstrating their commitment with a design like this. It’s a very tangible piece of the planned continuous walkway along the canal from North Avenue to Division Street, which will hopefully one day span the entire city.

The city has also been adding underpasses on the main branch downtown, and the state this year funded another underpass on the North Branch at Addison through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program.

You can start to picture the long-term vision here. I’m looking forward to the day I can walk home along the river from downtown to Lakeview without having to cross traffic, and I can hop on my bike at home in Lakeview and ride the river all the way to Evanston to visit my sister-in-law’s family. This is exactly what is envisioned in the city’s Chicago River Corridor Development Plan.