Chicago Skyway Reaches Mid-point on Canopy Restoration Project Combining Original Art Deco Design with New Technology
CHICAGO (PRWEB) May 25, 2018 -- Skyway Concession Company LLC (SCC), operators of the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge (Chicago Skyway), are mid-way through efforts to restore the Chicago Skyway’s toll plaza canopy to its iconic art-deco design, hailed as “ultra-modern” when the plaza originally opened in 1958. The $7 million dollar canopy restoration project is the work of Skidmore, Owings, Merrill, LLP, scheduled in phases around the summer peak travel months to minimize any disruption to motorists traveling the roadway.
The new Skyway toll plaza canopy will maintain its historical art-deco look and feel, while incorporating state-of-the-art signage and tolling equipment. The new larger toll lane signage, color coded by payment type (e.g., green for cash, purple for I-Pass/E-ZPass), was designed to help motorists see which lanes offer their preferred payment method from a much greater distance, allowing for safer transit to the correct payment lane and more efficient transit through the toll plaza.
About the Chicago Skyway: Built by the City of Chicago in 1958, the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge is a 7.8-mile-long toll road that connects the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side. The main feature of the Skyway is a 1⁄2-mile-long steel truss bridge, known as the "High Bridge." The bridge itself spans the Calumet River and Calumet Harbor, a major harbor for industrial ships – its main span extends 650 feet long and provides for 125 feet of vertical clearance.
The City of Chicago maintained and operated the Chicago Skyway until January 2005 when Skyway Concession Company assumed those responsibilities pursuant to a 99-year lease. The lease agreement between Skyway and the City of Chicago was the first privatization of an existing toll road in the United States.
Avis LaVelle, A. LaVelle Consulting Srvs., http://www.alavelleconsulting.com, +1 312 402 2171, [email protected]
Share this article