City Gets Rid Of Loose Concrete At Underpass Where Chunk Fell On Car
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Less than 24 hours after CBS 2 reported on falling concrete from a Lake Shore Drive overpass falling on a local family's car, city crews were at the overpass, getting rid of more loose concrete.
Earlier this week, chunks of concrete – including one the size of a brick – fell from the Lake Shore Drive bridge over Grand Avenue, about a block from Navy Pier, smashing into the hood of Bill Cantrell's car as he was driving with his wife and 3-year-old son.
"It was concrete, chunks of concrete, and it looked like it had steel rebar in it," Cantrell said.
He showed CBS 2's Chris Martinez the damage to his car on Wednesday, and by Thursday morning, city crews were at the scene, chipping and hammering at sections of the overpass, bringing more chunks of loose concrete down to keep it from hitting other cars, or any of the hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists who go through the intersection every day.
"The gentleman that was behind me had said, you know, if I was speeding, he said that the bricks would have definitely cleared through the windshield, and would have hit my wife, hit the baby. I mean, it would have killed them instantly," Cantrell said.
Inspection reports on the overpass, barely six months old, gave the structure a satisfactory rating, noting "minor deterioration." The report indicated corrosion was not a threat to the bridge itself.
It can, however, pose a big risk to anyone below, which is why safety nets have been hung at a similar intersection, at Lower Randolph Street and Columbus Drive.
Chunks of concrete spotted on that netting on Thursday were just as big, and just as dangerous as the one that hit Cantrell's car.
A city spokesperson said, beyond a few spots of loose concrete, an inspection of the Lake Shore Drive overpass above Grand Avenue did not find any major issues.
