From Chicago to the suburbs, transportation officials have roadwork, station work and ongoing sanitation planned from Friday through Sunday.
Let's first head south of I-80, in Will County. The Illinois Department of Transportation is revealing its plans for the second year of the I-55 bridge rebuild project. Starting overnight Friday and continuing all weekend, northbound I-55 will be reduced to one lane from River Road to Arsenal Road.
But later this month, all traffic will be in the northbound and southbound lanes will be blocked off until the fall when the rebuild is finally expected to finish. This weekend's work is needed just to prep the northbound roadway for the load.
In Hazel Crest, Metra Electric riders can expect workers to be closing different entrances and platforms around the station this weekend. Metra says the rehab around the Park and 170th access points will be finished by the Monday morning commute.
In the South Loop, women's hoops takes over. The Big East Women's Basketball Tournament is being played at Wintrust Area through Monday night. Wintrust Area is on Cermak and Indiana, just north of McCormick Place, and the Green Line is the nearest 'L' train option. The #21 CTA Bus is also a good option to get to the arena.
Keep in mind if you don't have a Ventra card, and just want to ride for a special event, the payment system (used by CTA and most Metra lines) allows riders to use Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay for pay-as-you-go rides ($2.25 for bus, $2.50 for train).
Speaking of the CTA, the agency this week put out some information about cleaning its equipment, as the coronavirus remains top-of-mind for Chicago commuters. The link for the full rundown of what and how workers clean the system can be found here. Have a safe and healthy weekend!
