The Cortland Street Bridge Will Stay Closed for Years. Here's What We Know.

The Cortland Street Bridge, which carries traffic over the Chicago River between Bucktown and Lincoln Park, will stay closed to vehicles for years longer than originally planned. Here is a straightforward timeline of what has happened and where things stand.

How We Got Here

The bridge closed to vehicle traffic in September 2025 for what CDOT described at the time as an 18 to 24 month rehabilitation, with a planned reopening in 2027. Pedestrians and cyclists have continued to cross on the bridge's north sidewalk throughout construction.

A structural assessment completed in mid-2026 changed that timeline. CDOT determined that the 125-year-old bridge is no longer able to safely carry vehicular traffic in its current condition, and that the rehabilitation approach itself needs to be reconsidered given the bridge's complexity. As a result, the department now says the project will take years rather than months, with no firm completion date.

What Caused the Delay

The Cortland Street Bridge opened in 1902 and is recognized as the first Chicago-style fixed trunnion bascule bridge, a design developed by city engineers that was later used on movable bridges around the world. It was designated a Chicago landmark in 1991. More than a century of service has left it with significant steel corrosion, and CDOT says addressing that safely requires new environmental review, engineering, and design work before construction can resume.

A Fight Over Landmark Status

The extended timeline has also opened a separate debate at City Hall. Alderpeople Brian Hopkins and Scott Waguespack have said they plan to introduce legislation stripping the bridge's landmark protections, arguing that would give the city more flexibility to replace the span rather than continue repairing it. Preservation advocates, including Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago, oppose the move, arguing the bridge's condition is the result of deferred maintenance rather than its landmark status, and that removing protections would set a troubling precedent. Some preservationists have floated converting the bridge to pedestrian-only use, potentially as part of a future 606 trail extension. Even if landmark status were removed, federal and state historic preservation reviews would still apply to any replacement, so the designation alone is not what is holding up the timeline.

Impact on the Neighborhood

The bridge carried roughly 18,000 vehicles a day before it closed. Its closure has coincided with work on other river crossings nearby, including the Lake Street and Chicago Avenue bridges, adding pressure to North Avenue and other alternate routes. Residents and business owners on both sides of the river have raised concerns about the length and uncertainty of the closure.

What's Next

CDOT says it is continuing environmental review, engineering, and design work while the rehabilitation approach is reassessed, and is also looking at ways to ease congestion on nearby routes in the meantime. The Division Street Bridge is scheduled to begin a similar rehabilitation in spring 2026. No new completion date for Cortland has been announced. We will update this post as the timeline becomes clearer.