Last phase of Kennedy Expressway construction work begins
Work officially began overnight on the third and final phase of the Kennedy Expressway rehabilitation project — and major traffic backups were already causing headaches during the Tuesday morning rush.
Lane and ramp closures began Monday night, as crews started setting up a safety zone in the outbound lanes.
Once again, it will be anything but a smooth ride along the Kennedy, and drivers will have to get used to it, with work not expected to be finished until Thanksgiving.
The Illinois Department of Transportation kicked off the third and final year of its multi-million dollar rehab project along the Kennedy Expressway. The project aims to repair 19 bridges, repatch pavement, fix overhead signs, and add LED lights.
When drivers got on the road Tuesday morning, they immediately saw no inbound express lanes, with the reversibles open outbound only throughout the final phase of the construction project. As with the last two phases, travel times could be three times longer than usual.
"I can't be mad at that," said Ivan Vega. "I hit a lot of potholes and got my tires messed up."
What drivers can expect during the project?
The two left lanes of the outbound side will close from Division Street to Kostner Avenue, while the two other local outbound lanes will remain open. In addition, the reversible express lanes will be open outbound throughout the year, although for part of the project, drivers in the reversible express lanes will not be able to exit towards O'Hare International Airport. The local lanes will be the only option to get to the northwest suburbs and O'Hare.
Crews began setting up a safety zone Monday at 9 p.m. before lane closures officially began on the outbound Kennedy Expressway between Division Street and the split between the Kennedy and Edens near Montrose Avenue on Tuesday morning.
At least two lanes will remain open to traffic. Again, the outbound reversible express lanes will remain open, but during this first phase, which should last until June, drivers will not be able to exit until hitting the Edens at Foster Avenue.
"The reason that is is because the exit ramps from the reversible back to mainline are too close to bridges to safely get traffic back over the far right-hand side, so we're pushing all that reversible traffic to Foster Avenue, and they can use to Foster to get back to westbound Kennedy," IDOT District One Bureau Chief Jon Schumacher said.
Overnight ramps and lane closures
Drivers should also expect various overnight ramp and lane closures on the outbound Kennedy and the reversible lanes between Ohio Street and Montrose Avenue.
IDOT says it will be aggressive with its messaging to the public this time around and plans to issue updates and notices as soon as that information becomes available. This is in an effort to avoid any confusion or last-minute changes, like what happened during the last phase when a deadline was not met.
"Last year was always going to be the most complicated year because of the extra complexity of the ITS work that was going on. We don't have that this year as it's straight roadwork and bridge work, which we feel comfortable with and makes us feel like we will hit that Thanksgiving deadline," Schumacher said.
IDOT said it is going to be transparent with its deadlines this time, after the second phase of the Kennedy project was delayed several weeks.
"Last year was always going to be the most complicated year just because of the extra complexity of the [Intelligent Transportation Systems] work that was going on," Schumacher said. "We don't have that this year. This year, it's straight roadwork and bridge work — which we're very comfortable with, and very confident that we can hit that Thanksgiving deadline."
Commuters are encouraged to consider alternate routes and transportation
Schumacher said that while IDOT is encouraging commuters to consider alternate routes, they did learn about keeping traffic flowing during the first couple of phases of the project.
"Something we did notice in the first year is when motorists stay in their lanes and don't try to cut off other motorists. It's actually surprising how much that helps. It helps move more traffic through," Schumacher said.
If a commuter is taking an alternate route, the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line, which runs in part right in the middle of the Kennedy Expressway, is the next best option.
Metra confirmed service was added to the UP-Northwest Line, which runs parallel to the Kennedy Expressway, two years ago when the project started. Metra officials said this additional service will remain in place during the final phase of construction.
"I've just got to be patient and get people from point A to point B, and then get myself home, and then to work," said rideshare driver Mike Stewart. "That's about it."
A cab driver told CBS News Chicago this construction means lost time and money. "Time, yeah, that's all — lose time and lose money," the driver said.
As always, IDOT says to slow down and be mindful of the crews working. They estimate that the project will be complete by Thanksgiving 2025.