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The old Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge demolition went well overall on Tuesday morning, but part of the section of the bridge on the east side did not explode, so it will be done again on Wednesday morning.
“We will not allow anyone on the bridge or island to get in until we get it knocked out and the new bridge is open to traffic,” Barry Gibbs, the supervising field engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation in the area. “We will do one more blast of a section 25 feet long and 40 foot in height at the edge of the pier.”
In two weeks, what portions of the levee are remaining on the east and west side of the old bridge will come down and the public at specified distances will be able to observe that.
Gibbs said IDOT has just talked to a demolition contractor about down that and the easy way he said it to make one blast at the same time and bring all the remaining sections down at the same time. Options are still being explored for the final blast, Gibbs said.
IDOT today announced that I-270 will be closed in both the eastbound and westbound directions on Wednesday, weather permitting. The lane closures will begin at 9:45 a.m. and will reopen within two hours. As said earlier, a section of the truss bridge did not detonate as planned during today’s blast, so another blast is required to complete the demolition of the eastbound truss structure. Westbound traffic will be guided onto IL 3 and eastbound traffic will be guided onto Riverview Boulevard, utilizing flaggers, traffic control devices, and traffic control signing. Motorists should consider alternate routes to avoid delay. One additional closure will be required, and that closure will be announced in the near future.
For IDOT District 8 updates on Twitter, follow us at https://twitter.com/IDOTDistrict8.
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