At least a few months will pass before the Kennedy Expressway returns to normal as Phase 1 of an ambitious $150 million project comes to an end.
The reopening of the inbound side of the highway on Saturday night and into Sunday morning was preceded, according to Illinois Department of Transportation officials, by a final round of lane closures. All lanes reopened shortly after 7 a.m.
The first of the project’s three phases got underway in March, causing traffic jams on both sides of the road and forcing drivers to find other ways to get through Chicago.
Stage Two
Illinois Department of Transportation officials have stated that the project’s next phase will focus on the reversible express lanes rather than the inbound lanes.
Complete closure of those lanes is scheduled for the spring of 2024. According to officials, the REVLAC (Reversible Lane and Control) system rehabilitation in those express lanes will be the primary focus during the closure.
During this section of the project, lanes on the mainline portions of the expressway will need to be closed in order to install LED lights in the “Hubbard’s Cave” tunnel.
Lastly, the expressway will be painted, and the express lanes’ pavement will be patched.
It is anticipated that this phase will be finished by autumn 2024.
Stage Three
The project’s last phase, which consists of finishing touches to the outbound side of the roadway, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2025.
Reversible express lanes will remain open in the outbound direction to help ease traffic flow while two mainline outbound lanes will be closed at a time during construction, much like the first phase did to the inbound side.
“Hubbard’s Cave” on the outbound side will get new LED lighting, paint, and signage.
IDOT officials anticipate that these lane closures will last until late fall of 2025.