Before & After: Michigan Avenue Bridge (original) (raw)

Architecture Mon Apr 06 2009

The Michigan Avenue bridge is undergoing a face lift, the first phase of which has been completed just in time for the 2016 Olympic Committee's visit to Chicago this past weekend, the Tribune points out. Work on the east side of the bridge will begin this month and is scheduled for June completion. (Which means that pesky pedestrian detour has now switched to the other side of the street.)

The sidewalks on the west side of the bridge have been replaced with a slip-resistant fiberglass material, and new lighting and flagpoles have been installed. But most noticeably, the once drab, green-grey guardrail has been replaced by a replica of the original 1920 rail, detailed in the 1909 Burnham Plan of Chicago, and has been painted "Bordeaux."

Top photo: Flickr user rpongsaj; Bottom photo: City of Chicago press release.