A Chicago South Side landmark built in 1956, the dramatic 7.8-mile Chicago Skyway toll bridge system connects I-94 with I-90 (an Indiana toll road) at the Indiana border. STV provided design services for the rehabilitation and widening of 3,700 feet of the Chicago Skyway between 75th and 79th streets. The $55 million project widened the existing cross sections of I-90 to three lanes in each direction with a median divider and safety shoulders.
The bridge originally consisted of eight sets of two-, three-, and four-span continuous plate girder and rolled section structures. Three of the rolled beam structures were removed and replaced with a 1,700-foot-long, mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) structure. To enhance the visual experience for ridership and neighborhoods along this segment of the Skyway, the firm introduced several streetscape features. At street levels below the highway, STV provided brick paving, decorative lighting, and dense plantings. Decorative lighting and planters were also used along the Skyway Bridge.
