CITY HALL — Alderpeople on Wednesday criticized Chicago’s transportation department for temporarily closing several bridges at the same time this year, which has led to traffic backups and headaches Downtown and on the North Side.

Four bridges over the Chicago River — along Lake Street, State Street, Chicago Avenue and Cortland Street — are currently shut down to car traffic while the Chicago Department of Transportation completes repairs.

The State Street bridge, which closed in April, is slated to reopen later this year, according to a city press release. The Chicago, Lake and Cortland bridges — each of them popular east-west routes used to get across the city — were closed for repairs this summer and fall.

Those projects are expected to last from late 2026 until 2028.

The transporta

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