Northside Gets a New Look for 2025
The Kennedy Expressways is about to bring the second phase of the construction as the year ends. The project will be finished by the year 2025, and the Department of Transportation is doing its job so construction goes as planned. The second wave will include the openings of certain exits and lanes and the closing of others.
Announced February 28, IDOT planned to fix 36 bridges between Ohio Street to Edens. The projects will cost $150 million and take three years to finish. This included patching expressway pavement, replacing expressway access systems, and renewing overhead sign structures. Bridge joints and decks will also be repaired, but this requires the destruction of both to begin installation.
For the first stage of construction, two lanes closed going inbound from the Kennedy Expressway. This also included express lanes, which only flowed inbound. The next stage will focus on express lanes while inbound and outbound lanes are open.
Cramped-up Kennedy
Stage One is still in place, and the transition to phase two is to be smooth. However, citizens are skeptical of the actual project ending two years from now. Greg Marquez, a northbound commuter, is one of the citizens who believed this is the department being optimistic.
“They can’t control the weather,” said Marquez. ” They can’t control unforeseen conditions and it could extend that.”
Take into account that the Jane Byrne Interchange was projected to be done in four years by the Department of Transportation. However, due to outside forces that delayed construction like weather or human interventions, the project took nine years to finish.
Public Alternatives
Citizens who commute via the Kennedy Expressway have two choices, deal with the longer hours or find new pathways. As a result, 30 to 40-minute commutes became an hour and a half for some because of delays.
Chicagoans who do not want to deal with the hour-plus commute on the highway choose public transportation. Fortunately for CTA and Metra, this is their chance to revive themselves as a common source of transportation.
Transit agency member Micheal Gillies is excited about how the construction will help the future of Metra, especially after trying to win them back post-pandemic. “People will continue to come on,” said Gillies. “Being on Metra and soaring past traffic is better than being stuck in it.”
To the surprise of no one, there was a jump in public transport usage for the CTA and Metra. For Metra, passengers increased between 1,000 to 10,000 during the Kennedy Expressway construction. CTA and Pace commuters would park their cars at a parking lot and commute via bus or the Blue Line.
New Wave of Openings and Closures
IDOT told sources this week will be the next round of ramp closure and openings for inbound lanes for the project. The ramps include the Diversey Avenue ramp to open later in the week.
Pulaski Avenue’s inbound ramp will open in two weeks. Irving Park Road and Kimball Avenue will reopen the week of September 25. Finally the Fullerton, Montrose, North, Armitage, and Kedzie’s Avenue ramps will open in late October.
For information or questions about the Kennedy Expressway, email them at DOT.KennedyRehab@illinois.gov. For questions on Metra and their schedules go to https://ridertools.metrarail.com/maps-schedules. Finally, for those looking to use pace as an option, go to https://www.pacebus.com/trip-planner.
Written By Daylontie Jasper
Sources:
WGN News: IDOT announces next round of inbound Kennedy ramp closures; by Andy Koval
WGN News: Kennedy Expressway construction project to last 3 years, cost $150M, and begins in March; by Sarah Jindra
WGN News: Kennedy Expressway construction: What you should know about adjusting to the delays; by Sarah Jindra
Feature Image Courtesy of Daniel Lobo‘s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of J E Koonce‘s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
