Attention Chicago-area commuters: After 10 months and one day, the reversible express lanes on the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) have officially reopened for business.
The lanes closed in March of 2024 as part of a three phase, $150 million Kennedy Expressway rehabilitation project by the Illinois Department of Transportation. While they opened briefly to select drivers during the Democratic National Convention in August, the heavily-trafficked lanes remained closed in both directions for the greater part of 2024, leading to heavy congestion and backups in and out of the city on a daily basis.
"If you've taken the Kennedy into Chicago at all, you know how congested it can get," NBC 5's Lisa Chavarria said.
The reversible lanes, more commonly known as the express lanes, were expected to open in December 2024, but the timeline was delayed as IDOT workers continued to test the Reversible Lane Access Control System, which controls access to the lanes depending on the flow of rush hour traffic. That system includes more than 120 gates, camera equipment, fiber optic cables and a variety of signage, IDOT said.
According to IDOT officials, the express lanes officially reopened at 5 a.m. Monday, January 13,. Live video and photos from the expressway showed rush hour traffic moving with ease.
"We are cruising right along as we are heading inbound," NBC 5's Lisa Chavarria reported at 5:35 a.m. from NBC 5's Stormchaser.
The ride in the reversible lanes was also smoother, Chavarria said, as officials say sections of pavement were repaved, and bridges were rehabbed.
Local
The closure of the lanes spanned only 7.5 miles, but fell at a "crucial" point in commutes from the North and Northwest Suburbs, NBC 5 Traffic Reporter Kye Martin noted, with more than 275,000 drivers on that stretch of road each day.
More lane closures coming
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Still, IDOT says, motorists can expect "occasionally, temporary lane closures in the coming weeks to complete miscellaneous punch list items and pavement marking refreshing."
And, the third and final stage of the three-year project is expected to begin the spring of 2025, with some closures on parts of the outbound Kennedy Expressway from Ohio Street to the Edens junction. There, workers are expected to rehabilitate lanes and refurbish a number of bridges along the route.
The first phase of the project, which closed parts of the inbound lanes and some express lanes, was completed in 2023. According to officials, the entire project is set to wrap by the the end of 2025.