Climate change isn’t real, or at least, the White House doesn’t seem to think so after withdrawing from every organization fighting climate change, as well as having the EPA reverse its findings on greenhouse gases and ending regulations on cars that help curb those now “non-problematic” gasses. But us humans aren’t the only things suffering in the heat. In Chicago, a fairly sizzling week of heat led to the malfunction and prolonged closure of two area bridges in one day, causing hours of delays while firefighters and crews tried to cool them off so they could work again.
Chicago was under a heat advisory at the time, warning residents of heat index levels between 100 and 110 degrees, according to NBC 5 Chicago. The unusually warm temperatures might be easier for humans to avoid, but not the structures exposed to the baking sun. The DuSable Lake Shore Drive bridge that spans the Chicago River was opening for one of its two scheduled bridge lifts on Wednesday, which according to CBS News is a regular occurrence during the summer, allowing passing boats to make their way out to Lake Michigan. After its lift, the two-part bridge was unable to close, reportedly leaving a considerable gap caused by the bridge’s expansion from the heat.
Area firefighters were called to spray water from one of their boats onto the bridge, which can be seen in NBC 5’s video, hoping to cool it off. The bridge was eventually able to close all of the way and reopened mid-afternoon. On the south side of Chicago, the Torrence Avenue Bridge, which crosses Chicago’s Calumet River faced similar problems and was unable to come down from its “up” position during the city’s rush hour. It also shut down for a few hours while CDOT crews attended to the issue.
Problems happen when garbage infrastructure isn’t fixed or updated to work a century later
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