From downtown to the city’s Far South Side, Wednesday’s extreme heat brought traffic to a halt as bridges buckled under the skyrocketing temperatures.
A bridge at 127th and Torrence Avenue over the Calumet River in the Hegewisch neighborhood failed to close properly Wednesday afternoon due to heat-related issues, Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson Erica Schroeder confirmed.
The bridge got stuck just before 4:30 p.m., Schroeder said. It was back down and secure as of 5:50 p.m.
The disruption follows a DuSable Lake Shore Drive bridge that got stuck slightly upright Wednesday morning, causing delays and backups for cars on the major Chicago highway.
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The DuSable bridge at Grand Avenue near Navy Pier malfunctioned and failed to close properly after it was raised for a scheduled lift around 10 a.m., according to Schroeder. No one was injured.
That bridge was fully closed again and reopened to traffic around 2:30 p.m., Schroeder said.
The ongoing early September heat wave caused the DuSable bridge to swell in the heat as it was raised. It got stuck after a boat passed through for a scheduled lift, according to Schroeder.
“Given the high temperatures, it’s not totally uncommon,” Schroeder said. “Our scheduled bridge lifts happen in the spring and fall when temperatures are normally more mild.”
Typically, a bridge lift lasts just from eight to 12 minutes, according to CDOT. This spring, 27 bridges from Ashland Avenue Bridge on the South Branch to DuSable Lake Shore Drive were lifted twice a week. CDOT had not published a fall bridge lift schedule.
A heat advisory is expected to be in effect for most of Wednesday, as “feels like” temperatures of as high as 105 sweep through Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.
Chicago temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s on Thursday. However, the heat should slightly lessen on Friday and into Labor Day Weekend, according to Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Chicago office. There is a chance for thunderstorms, some severe, on Thursday and Friday.
Temperatures are expected to dip and stay below 90 degrees beginning on Friday, Ratzer said.
To reduce the DuSable bridge’s swelling, the Chicago Fire Department showered the structure with a massive stream of water to cool it off. Videos of the incident were circulating on social media, showing a CFD boat blasting water toward the sweltering bridge.