Wacker Drive

Upper Wacker Drive, looking west from Michigan Avenue
Wacker Drive highlighted in red
Former name(s)	Market Street Water Street River Street
Length	2.2 mi (3.5 km)[1]
South end	Upper Wacker: Franklin Street/Harrison Street intersection (360 west at 424 south) Lower Wacker:Ida B. Wells Drive near Wells Street (220 west at 400 south)
East end	US 41 (Lake Shore Drive) (340 north at 400 east)
Construction
Inauguration	1926

Wacker Drive is a majormultilevel street inChicago, Illinois, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of theChicago River in theLoop.^[2] The vast majority of the street isdouble-decked; the upper level is intended for regular street-level traffic, and the lower level for service vehicles, deliveries, waste collection, utility access, and through traffic. It is sometimes cited as a precursor to thefreeway, though when it was built, the idea was thatpleasure vehicles would use the upper level. Since it follows the curving path of the Chicago River, Lower Wacker Drive is the only street in the city that adopts both North–South and East–West designations.^[a] In certain areas, there is a third level of Wacker Drive, often known asLower Lower Wacker Drive orSub-Lower Wacker Drive. This additional layer is primarily used for towing and impounding vehicles, utility infrastructure, and rail access in some areas. The street is named after early 20th-century Chicago businessman and city plannerCharles H. Wacker.

Left:Navy Pier's fireworks overLake Michigan beyond theChicago River and theMichigan Avenue andLink Bridges with East Wacker on right; Left center:Willis Tower at 233 South Wacker; Right center:333 West Wacker sits at the junction of east-west and north-south traffic; Right:360 North Michigan (Now the LondonHouse Hotel),Mather Tower and35 East Wacker on East Wacker west ofMichigan Avenue and theMichigan Avenue Bridge.

In 1909,architectsDaniel Burnham andEdward H. Bennett drew up aplan for theCommercial Club of Chicago to unify the city's urban design and increase its physical beautification. The improvement of traffic flow inChicago was a major part of the plan. Among its many recommendations was adouble-decked roadway along the river, intended to relieve the congestion at River Street andRush Street, where 50% of the city's north–south traffic crossed theChicago River.Charles H. Wacker, chairman of theChicago Plan Commission, pushed the idea.

All three levels of Wacker Drive, east ofColumbus Drive, including a ramp between the upper and lower (middle) levels

Wacker Drive to the south of theChicago River looking east

The original double-decker road, replacing South Water and River Streets, was completed in 1926 at a cost of $8 million and named afterCharles Wacker. The 1926 section stretched fromLake Street toMichigan Avenue, the latter of which was also rebuilt into a two-level road.

An extension south toCongress Parkway and Harrison Street was built between 1948 and 1954, replacing Market Street (after theMarket Street stub of theLake Street Elevated was removed).^[3] Extensions east were built in 1963 and 1975, with the latter taking it toLake Shore Drive, and a new lower level starting at Stetson Avenue. At the time, Lake Shore Drive had anS-curve at the river, running where Wacker now goes between Field Boulevard and current Lake Shore Drive. This S-curve was on aviaduct over theIllinois Central Railroad'srail yard, and was at the level of Upper Wacker; the middle and lower levels dead-ended at that point. The current alignment of Lake Shore Drive was finished in 1986, and in 1987 Middle Wacker was extended to meet the new alignment. The ramps to bring upper traffic down had already been built; upper has been dead-ended where it used to end at Lake Shore Drive.

In 2001–2002, Wacker Drive was redesigned and reconstructed between Michigan Avenue and Lake Street. The original upper deck was crumbling, and the entire roadway did not meet modern standards for road widths and clearances. Using a specially-developedpost-tensioned,reinforced, high-performance concrete cast-in-place system, the new road deck was expected to have a lifespan of 75–100 years.^[4] Walkways along the river were meant to make the drive more pedestrian-friendly, while restoration of historic limestone elements and reproduction lighting evoked the drive's original 1926 appearance. The 20-month, $200-million project was completed on time and within budget.^[5]

In spring of 2010, work commenced on rebuilding the north–south section of Wacker, from Randolph Street to Congress Parkway, including the upper and lower levels. This is a continuation of the Revive Wacker Drive project started in 2001.

Wacker is the only street to intersect bothState Street (the east–west center line) andMadison Street (the north–south center line), although Lake Shore Drive and LaSalle Street/Drive^[6] also each cross both dividing lines.

In April 2014, TheAmerican Council of Engineering Companies awarded the Wacker Drive and Congress Parkway Reconstruction project its Grand Conceptor Award. The project team was led by TranSystems and included roadway, bridge and tunnel improvement work. The project involved complex staging to keep 135,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians moving through the construction zone each day.^[7]

The following streets intersect Upper Wacker Drive, from south to north and west to east. Most upper-level streets that end at Wacker Drive, with only right turns allowed, are not included.

The entire route is inChicago,Cook County.

The following streets intersect Lower Wacker Drive, from south to north and west to east.

The entire route is inChicago,Cook County.

mi[9]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.0	0.0	Harrison Street (600 South) / Franklin Street (300 West)	Southern terminus
0.1	0.16	Ida B. Wells Drive	Northbound entrance and southbound exit
0.9	1.4	Post Place
1.2	1.9	Garvey Court
1.3	2.1	Wacker Place	Eastbound exit only
1.5	2.4	Michigan Avenue (100 East)
1.5	2.4	Beaubien Court	Eastbound entrance and exit only
1.6	2.6	Stetson Avenue
1.7	2.7	Columbus Drive
2.0	3.2	US 41 (Lake Shore Drive)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

• The 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers used Wacker Drive as a setting.^[10]
• The car chase scene inThe Dark Knight (2008) was filmed on Lower Wacker Drive.^[11]
• The music video for "Burnin' " pays tribute to Chicago house producers thatDaft Punk found inspiration in.^[12]

• Multilevel streets in Chicago
• Philo Carpenter
• Buildings on Wacker Drive
  • Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building
  • Civic Opera House
  • One South Wacker
  • 111 South Wacker Drive
  • 200 South Wacker Drive
  • Willis Tower
  • 311 South Wacker Drive
  • 333 Wacker Drive
  • 225 West Wacker Drive

• Media related toWacker Drive at Wikimedia Commons
• Official City of Chicago Loop Community Map

41°53′13″N87°37′39″W / 41.88688°N 87.62738°W /41.88688; -87.62738

• Streets in Chicago

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