IRVING PARK — Those anxiously awaiting the opening of a new bridge connecting two riverfront parks will have to wait a bit longer before they can walk or bike on the 312 RiverRun.
The 312 RiverRun, first announced by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2017, is a single path that will stretch for nearly two miles on the Chicago River, from Belmont to Montrose avenues.
“It combines the Riverwalk and the 606 into something new,” Emanuel said at the time.
The highly-anticipated Riverview Bridge, which soars 18 feet above the river, was initially expected to be finished this summer, but Chicago Department of Transportation officials said construction on the bridge will stretch into the fall.
Anyone crossing the Chicago River using the bridge at West Addison Street can see some of the concrete the foundations have been poured and that segments of the trail have already been installed.
The $13 million Riverview Bridge segment of the project is being funded through state, federal and local funds and will let runners, bicyclists and pedestrians move between the paths in Clark Park, 3400 N. Rockwell St., to the south and California Park, 3843 N. California Ave., to the north.
It will also let people on foot or bike circumvent major streets, enhancing pedestrian safety, officials said.
Extending more than 1,000 feet in length and 16 feet wide, Riverview Bridge will be the longest pedestrian river bridge in the city once complete.
The city broke ground on the 312 RiverRun project in 2017. Once completed, it’ll connect three parks and create a campus-like atmosphere between Clark Park, California Park and Horner Park, which together span Roscoe Village, North Center, Avondale, Irving Park and Albany Park, according to CDOT.
A bit north on the river the reconstruction of the Irving Park Road Bridge. That $16.6 million project will offer wider lanes and sidewalks to fit the current dimensions of Irving Park Road to the east and west. It will have a path built under it, connecting Horner Park to the 312 River Run along the west river bank.
The current bridge has two lanes in each direction, and the new bridge will as well — but the lanes will be wider. Other improvements include wider sidewalks on the north and south sides of bridge with a new pedestrian rail at the edge of the sidewalk, new protective crash rails between road and sidewalk and new decorative and ornamental lighting.
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