The Chicago Department of Transportation announced Wednesday the Lake Shore Drive Bridge over the Chicago River is set to be raised Thursday night for “testing and maintenance” the same day the city plans to release video of 13-year-old Adam Toledo’s fatal shooting by police in Little Village.
CDOT spokesman Michael Claffey said the bridge will be raised between 10 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday for “testing and maintenance ahead of boat run season” and says the closure is not related to the video release.
A spokesperson for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office declined to comment.
Northbound traffic will be detoured via Monroe Street, Columbus Drive and Illinois Street, while southbound drivers will exit Lake Shore Drive at Grand Avenue and return via Columbus Drive and Monroe Street, Claffey said.
The bridge raising is a yearly practice in which every bridge over the river is lifted sequentially before boats leave mainland shelters to dock in Lake Michigan for the summer, according to Claffey.
The city’s plans to release the video Thursday of Adam Toledo being killed by police March 29 in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue. Adam’s family, which asked the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to delay the video release, viewed the footage Tuesday evening.
The city came under fire last summer for raising bridges into downtown during protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The decision, along with the mayor’s call to stop CTA trains from entering the Loop, made it difficult for protesters to leave downtown, according to a scathing inspector general report on how the Chicago Police Department handled the protests.
Contributing: Manny Ramos, Fran Spielman
