- Credibility:
AVONDALE — An infrastructure project that will bring bike lanes, curb extensions and other upgrades to a stretch of Belmont Avenue is getting underway in Avondale after a months-long delay due to a quarry workers strike.
Construction on Belmont Avenue between Kimball and Western avenues will begin this week, according to Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s 35th Ward office.
The resurfacing and improvement project will add protected bike lanes, curb extensions, bump-outs at bus stops, in-lane stops, protected curbs and more to Belmont Avenue and the area around the Belmont Blue Line station, said Erica Schroeder, a Chicago Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
Parking will be restricted in the area during construction. Work is expected to be completed in mid-August, according to Ramirez-Rosa’s office.
The construction project is part of CDOT’s Complete Streets program, an initiative aimed at boosting safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
The work was initially scheduled to begin last summer, but it had to be postponed on account of a quarry workers strike that limited the supply of asphalt, concrete and other building materials, Schroeder said. The strike stalled road projects across the city, including the Milwaukee Avenue resurfacing project.
Credit: CDOTCity officials have said the improvements will boost safety on Belmont Avenue, which has been described as a wide street with a speeding problem.
Neighbors have long complained about speeding drivers on Belmont, a CDOT official said. Curb extensions and other upgrades that narrow the street are meant to slow traffic.
The bike lanes will provide a key east-west connection to other lanes across the city, officials have said.
For more information about the city-led project, go here.
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