It’s been talked about for weeks, but a massive reconstruction project on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway is finally getting underway, with workers setting up barriers and preparing for the multi-year endeavor to begin.
Those barriers will be erected on two of the inbound lanes on the roadway, with a 7.5-mile stretch from the Edens Junction all the way to Ohio Street shutting down for the foreseeable future as bridge repairs begin.
While the express lanes will be opened permanently for inbound traffic to help alleviate issues, motorists are bracing themselves for some serious challenges.
“The first thing I thought when I heard about this was like, ‘oh my God. The freaking hellhole it’s gonna be,” Fernando Ibarra said.
Extensive delays and increased travel times are expected for the duration of the project, which will tackle the inbound side of the expressway in year one, followed by an express-lane reconstruction effort in the second year and a rebuilding of the outbound lanes in the final year.
The Illinois Department of Transportation says that the inbound lane closures could wrap up by the fall, with a closure of the express lanes expected to begin in the spring of 2024 for bridge and pavement patching.
IDOT is recommending that commuters take advantage of alternatives, including the CTA, Metra and Pace as the roadway undergoes its first major facelift in nearly 30 years.
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“It’s in a state of disrepair,” IDOT Bureau Chief of Construction Jon Schumacher said. “30 years it’s taken a beating, including winter and the 275,000 cars that travel on it per day. It will take time.”
The initial stages of the work, which got underway at 10 p.m. Monday, will simply be to put barricades and other barriers in place. While the work will be confined to the inbound side of the highway, all commuters should brace for changes, officials said.
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“I live here locally, but I Uber drive on the side,” Dawn Greer said. “So that construction can make your trips a lot longer. I’m not really looking forward to it.”
