For nine months, Chicago residents traveling to and from the city have been plagued by traffic on The Kennedy and Edens expressways, but drivers will finally get some relief this weekend.
Phase 1 of a three year, $150 million construction project is expected to wrap up overnight, with final lane closures and ramp closures in place Saturday night.
Since March, at least two inbound lanes have been closed at a time so crews could start a bridge rehabilitation project. The reversible express lanes were also only open to traffic heading inbound to help alleviate congestion, making for headaches for drivers on both sides of the roadway.
"I think it’ll be very nice to have those extra lanes to depend on, also not having to worry about any construction traffic,” said Maria Castaneda, a spokesperson for IDOT. “We want to make sure we have the best and safest roadway that we have the public to drive on. So again, definitely appreciate your patience, I can’t say it enough.”
Crews will finish construction on Phase 1 inbound lanes Saturday night, weather permitting.
Phase 2 won't start until sometime in March 2024, giving drivers a season of relief.
Although the major closures will be on a hiatus for winter, IDOT says there will still be smaller construction projects during overnight and off-peak hours.
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“We’re not going to have a long-time semi-permanent lane closure, but you can definitely expect over the coming weeks or so some overnight closures as well as weekend lane closures," Castaneda said. “Thank you to everyone who’s driven on it or that’s had to deal with it. We completely understand it, but we’re hopeful we hope we’ll get this open as soon as we can for you so you’ll have a much safer, and smoother roadway to be traveling on.”
Phase 2 will close the express lanes for most of 2024, while Phase 3 will focus on the outbound lanes and will begin in 2025.
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