The massive Kennedy Expressway rehabilitation project will enter its final phase this week, with lane and ramp closures set to take effect Monday night. Randy Gyllenhaal has a preview.
The massive Kennedy Expressway rehabilitation project will enter its final phase this week, with lane and ramp closures set to take effect Monday night.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, those ramp closures will take place over several nights as crews position equipment for the final phase of the project, which will focus on the outbound lanes of the highway.
Previous phases focused on the inbound side of the expressway and on the reversible express lanes, with the latter having just reopened to traffic in mid-January after construction fell slightly behind schedule.
According to IDOT officials, the first rush hour with closures in place will occur on Tuesday morning.
During the duration of Phase Three, the reversible express lanes will only remain open in the outbound direction, but that comes with a caveat, as those lanes will not allow drivers to exit directly to O’Hare International Airport.
Outbound express lane users will have to exit onto the Edens Expressway, according to officials.
The first part of Phase Three will likely take until mid-July to complete. Two left lanes will be closed from Division Street to Kostner Avenue, according to IDOT, with ramp improvements and closures staggered to help accelerate the rehabilitation process.
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The next part of the phase will see lanes closed from Division to the northern terminus of the project area, and that will likely carry through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Work is expected to take until at least Thanksgiving to complete
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In all, 19 bridge structures will be rehabilitated, pavement patching will take place, overhead signs will be replaced, LED lighting will be upgraded, structural steel will be repaired and new markings will be put down.
A full breakdown of the project can be found on IDOT’s website.
