Kennedy Construction Nightmare Set To Begin
(CBS) -- They say there are two seasons in Chicago: winter and construction. Boy, are we about to prove it.
CBS 2's Ed Curran reports one of Chicago's busiest expressway spots is about to see serious demolition detours.
The culprit is the bridge from the Ontario Street feeder to the inbound Kennedy. Now that a new bridge has been built, the old one has to be torn down.
The first detour, starting in two weeks, will take inbound Kennedy traffic off at Ohio across a two-lane, 15 mph road and back onto the expressway. Simply put, it'll be a wide-reaching jam-up during three weekends in June.
The old bridge can't be fixed, says Tony Quigley, an engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
You may have seen them building this new bridge over the Kennedy, but now the old one has to come down. It's going to mess up three weekends in the month of June and it's not going to be pretty.
The concrete bridge is a beast. It'll be hacked up and hauled away. On the Kennedy and the surrounding neighborhoods it could be "Carmageddon."
"Allow a lot of time, expect some significant delays," advises IDOT engineer Steve Travia.
Local travelers are urged to find an alternate route. Instate travelers: Stay away.
The good news is the work will be done on three weekends, from Friday night until 5 a.m. Monday.
The bad news is the work comes during Blues Fest, Gospel Fest, and the Taste of Randolph Street.