City To Repave Part Of North Lake Shore Drive
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Just when you thought construction season was coming to an end, the city has begun preparing a major repaving project Monday on a 1.5 mile section of North Lake Shore Drive.
It has been 16 years since the stretch of Lake Shore Drive between Grand and North avenues has been resurfaced.
The four-week repaving project should get rid of existing potholes, and help prevent a lot more from forming this winter.
To reduce the impact on traffic, work will be done at night and off-peak hours on Mondays through Thursdays. It will start with the closure of two northbound lanes between 8 p.m. and 5:45 a.m.
Then, between the morning and evening rush – from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – there will be single-lane closures in each direction so crews can work on curbs, shoulders, and ramps.
At one point during the project, the city must close all lanes of the S-curve between Walton Street and Michigan Avenue, likely in one direction at a time. The Chicago Department of Transportation said southbound traffic likely would be diverted to Michigan Avenue, and back on Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue. Northbound traffic would take a reverse of that detour.
CDOT said it understands the timing isn't ideal with the Cubs playing at least two National League Championship Series games this week at Wrigley Field, which is why the city has agreed to keep all lanes open around game time Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
That section of Lake Shore Drive handles 140,000 vehicles per day.
The $2.5 million project should be finished around Thanksgiving.
