'It's going to be bad': Drivers going to O'Hare brace themselves for gridlock on the Kennedy
CHICAGO (CBS) -- it seems we've been talking about this for days - and now it's finally here.
Drivers trying to get into Chicago are dealing with serious gridlock on the Kennedy. Two lanes are now closed from the Edens Expressway to Ohio for the next two years.
But it's not just the constant braking that's a concern for some drivers. CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reports some drivers are also worried about the impact on their wallets.
Rideshare and limo drivers said they're already feeling the headache from the Kennedy construction and they're concerned they might lose customers because of it.
"It's going to be big headache. We know that. It's going to be problems," said limo driver Dido Gospodinov.
Expect to see a lot of orange cones and break lights for the next three years on the Kennedy.
"Right now, it's taking an hour, almost an hour in the rush hour. And on that time, I don't know how long that will take," added limo driver Bisma Mahmood.
For rideshare and limo drivers picking up and dropping off clients at O'Hare, with the reduced lanes and extra amount of time to get to the airport, they said it will eat at their pockets.
"Oh definitely, yeah. And probably Uber too," Gospodinov said.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is encouraging anyone who commutes on the Kennedy to start thinking about other options.
One of those options is the CTA Blue Line. But that's not what rideshare and limo drivers want to hear.
"They're going to start telling customers to go back to Midway instead of O'Hare, but they don't have United or American over there, which is going to be a problem. I don't know, we'll see," Mahmood said.
"I think it's going to take longer than two hours. So they might take CTA train," he added.
Milwaukee Avenue just south and west of the expressway is also an alternative, but it has extensive construction of its own to contend with. Are there any alternate routes or plans to get to O'Hare?
"Through the city, no, but imagine all these thousands of cars are going to start doing the same thing: taxis, limos, Ubers. It's going to be bad," Godspodinov lamented.
CBS 2 tried to ask taxi drivers at O'Hare what they thought about the construction plan, but nearly a dozen wouldn't comment.