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Months-long lane closures with traffic, congestion and backups officially returned to the Edens and Kennedy Expressways Tuesday morning, with two outbound lanes closed and no inbound express lanes open as part of the third phase of the Illinois Department of Transportation's major rehabilitation project.
The project, originally billed at $150 million, is currently $19 million over budget, IDOT said last week, during a press conference. IDOT officials attributed the extra costs to additional patching and inner concrete wiring challenges.
The latest phase of construction is expected to snarl traffic in and out of the city for at least nine months, with impacts to both inbound and outbound commutes. It will also have a major impact on drivers headed from the city to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, with a popular route from the express lanes no longer accessible as the work continues.
"It’s just a 7-mile stretch, but so crucial a corridor," NBC 5 Traffic Reporter Kye Martin said.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, the Kennedy Expressway from Division to Kostner was already filled with break lights, work crews, orange cones and large signs reminding drivers of the many closures ahead.
Martin noted the first few days of the project are expected to lead to some of the slowest morning commutes due to the "work zone going in gradually."
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"Give yourself extra time for two weeks while a new routine for thousands develops," Martin said.
By 7 a.m., inbound traffic was congested and backed up due to a full inbound express lane closure.
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The closures come after the first phase of the project in 2023 closed inbound lanes on the busy expressway. In 2024, the second phase left the reversible express lanes closed in both directions, leading to heavy congestion and traffic headaches.
"It's terrible," one driver told NBC Chicago. "I'm talking totally time consuming."
According IDOT, the work is meant to increase safety, reduce maintenance costs and improve traffic flow. The work is expected to last through the end of 2025, until at least Thanksgiving, officials said.
As the construction continues, here's what drivers need to know.
Kennedy, Edens lane closures through spring, summer
Overnight, crews closed two outbound Kennedy lanes from Division Street to Kostner Avenue. Those lane closures are expected to remain in place through summer.
As of early Tuesday morning, photos and video from a bridge over the expressway showed break lights had begun to build at the Augusta/Milwaukee exit.
As the morning commute picked up, inbound traffic began to snarl, thanks to inbound express lane closures.
Express lanes won't take you to O'Hare
For the duration of the construction, express lanes will not open to inbound drivers. The lanes will remain outbound only, IDOT said.
As part of the new traffic pattern, the outbound express lanes' mid-gate entrance and exit will be closed, which means vehicles will be unable to exit until the Edens Expressway at Foster Avenue, IDOT said.
It also means you won't be able to get to the airport from the express lanes.
"Drivers going to O’Hare International Airport from downtown Chicago must stay on the mainline Kennedy and not the express lanes," IDOT stressed during a press conference last week, with the configuration expected to remain in place through mid-July.
IDOT added that the first exit on the express lanes will be the Edens Expressway at Foster Avenue.
"Motorists also should expect lane shifts and overnight lane closures, along with various ramp closures for varying durations throughout the project," IDOT said a the release.
Kennedy, Edens lane closures over the summer and into fall
According to IDOT, two to three right lanes on the outbound Kennedy Expressway will be closed from Division to the north end of the project.
Outbound express lane traffic will be permitted to exit at Keeler Avenue/Kostner Avenue, back onto the mainline Kennedy and Edens Expressway, IDOT said.
In addition, staggered ramp closures could require additional lane closures, IDOT said, with construction expected to last through Thanksgiving.
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.
