Fulton Market modernization project continues

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The historic Fulton Market is getting another big improvement.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined Alderman Walter Burnett and West Loop stakeholders Monday in breaking ground on the second phase of the Fulton Market Streetscape Project.

The mayor's office said the section from Carpenter Street to Ogden Avenue is being renovated to make it more accessible and safer. That includes granite cobbled intersections, new street furniture including seating, bike racks and wider sidewalks.

"The new streetscape is a major milestone in the redevelopment of Fulton Market, an area that was Chicago's economic engine in the 19th Century that has been reborn and is now powering the City's tech and cultural boom," Emanuel said.

The City Council designated the Fulton-Randolph Market District as a Chicago Landmark in July 2015.

Work on the first phase of the modernization project, from Halsted Street to Carpenter, was completed by the Chicago Department of Transportation in November 2018.

Officials from the mayor's office said the second phase of the project from Carpenter to Ogden is expected to be complete by the end of 2019. The total cost for both phases of the project is $20.3 million.