Van Buren Street Bridge

Construction to replace the Van Buren Street Bridge over Northbound and Southbound I-90/94 (Kennedy Expressway) began in October 2017 and was to completed in July of 2019.

The limits of work on Van Buren Street extended from just east of Halsted Street to just west of Des Plaines Street. The new bridge will creates additional space underneath the bridge along I-90/94 necessary for the future proposed I-90/94 mainline lanes, the South-to-East Ramp, the South-to-West Ramp, and the Northbound I-90/94 Collector-Distributor (CD) road.

Van Buren Street Bridge features include:

Wider sidewalks on both sides of the street
One lane in the eastbound direction
Two lanes in the westbound direction (outside lane will be a designated bus lane)
Elysian Field improvements providing 6,000 square feet of additional community gathering areas
Relocation of the Quincy Obelisk to Elysian Field with signature Greektown entrance signage

In addition to the removal and replacement of the Van Buren Street Bridge, the project included the construction of a retaining wall that connects the Halsted Street Bridge north abutment to the Van Buren Street bridge west abutment. The new wall will enable aesthetic improvements to the southeast corner of the intersection of Halsted Street and Van Buren Street within Greektown (Elysian Field), including the relocation of the existing Greektown monument (Quincy Obelisk) from Quincy Street. Other project work elements included drainage, existing siphon reconstruction, underpass and city street/bridge lighting, signing, traffic control and protection, landscaping and urban enhancements.