Navy Pier Flyover reopens as work presses forward on third and final phase

Closed since Labor Day, the Navy Pier Flyover reopened to cyclists and pedestrians on the Chicago Lakefront Trail on Monday. The three-week closure was necessary for crews to connect the first segment of the elevated path to the newly completed second. The work was the second shut down of the year, following a lane restriping project in June.

The reopened flyover still stretches from Ohio Street Beach above Grand Avenue and Illinois Street, but now crosses over the Ogden Slip and the future site of DuSable Park. It connects to the sidewalk on the lower level of the Lake Shore Drive bridge near the north bridge house.

A third and final path segment will cantilever off the east side of the bridge and over the Chicago River, passing through openings punched through the existing bridge house structures. The improvements will eliminate bottlenecks and blind corners on the current pathway, which is often jammed with cyclists, joggers, strollers, and tourists.

Work on the 2,160-foot-long flyover path began in early 2014 has been a slow-going affair—further complicated by unexpected structural repairs to the Lake Shore Drive bridge. The Chicago Department of Transportation hopes to complete the $60 million project by the end of the year.