LINCOLN SQUARE — Bad news: The nightmarish construction on Lawrence Avenue is going to be snarling traffic through early next year.
The Lawrence Avenue streetscape project runs along Lawrence between Western Avenue and the river. Crews started work on the project last year, and commuters, business owners and neighbors have dealt with detours, dug up pavement and sidewalks as well as other construction-related headaches.
Construction is expected continue through the first quarter of 2024, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) said.
The section of the Lawrence Avenue streetscape project under construction was announced by the Chicago Department of Transportation in 2020.
Its goal is to extend the streetscape work completed in 2015 along Lawrence, between Clark Street and Western Avenue, further west to the North Branch of the Chicago River, officials said.
The $11.8 million project is being funded through TIF and the Chicago Works capital plan to improve the stretch for pedestrians and bicyclists, officials said.
The street will have new bump-outs to shorten crossing distances and slow down vehicles, new ADA ramps and crosswalks, a pedestrian refuge island at Francisco and Lawrence and a contraflow bike lane on Francisco that will provide a low-stress connection to the North Shore Channel Trail, officials said.
The project also includes streets resurfacing, new curbs and gutters, drainage improvements, new pavement markings, new traffic signs and traffic signal improvements, officials said.
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