The abandoned railroad tracks in the middle of Kingsbury Street on the Near North Side are no longer.
On Friday, construction crews were removing the old tracks as part of a $4.3 million “streetscape improvement” of the road from North Avenue to Scott Street and Scott from Kingsbury to Halsted Street.
The city’s Department of Transportation said the rails were first installed in 1872 when the neighborhood was heavily industrial. But over decades it morphed into a retail and residential hotspot and the tracks were no longer needed.
After removing the 2,500 feet of tracks, crews will reconstruct pavement, curbs, gutters, driveways and sidewalks.
Kingsbury soon will have parallel parking on both sides of the street, instead of angled parking, which the city says caused people to drive over the curb.
