Motorists who use the Stevenson Expressway should get ready for longer travel times beginning Monday because the highway will be reduced to two lanes in each direction as the final phase of the reconstruction project gets under way.
Preparations are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Friday when crews will close one lane inbound from west of La Grange Road to east of the Des Plaines River bridge and one lane from just west of Kedzie Avenue to Canal Street, the Illinois Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
The construction speed limit will be 45 m.p.h.
This year’s work involves rebuilding the outbound bridges and pavement from Canal to Kedzie and from the Des Plaines River to La Grange Road. The inbound portion was reconstructed last year and will carry all Stevenson traffic in the construction zones.
The work, costing a total of $567 million, is expected to last for up to 40 years, although the actual life span of the new roadway depends on future traffic volume. Up to 175,000 vehicles travel the Stevenson (Interstate Highway 55) each weekday, including more trucks than on any other area expressway.
Motorists are again being advised to use Archer and Ogden Avenues and Joliet Road as alternate routes, or to park their cars and ride public transit. Bruce Dinkheller, IDOT’s engineer of project implementation, said more entrance and exit ramps will be affected by this year’s work.
Bruce Dinkheller, IDOT’s engineer of project implementation, said more entrance and exit ramps will be affected by this year’s work.
The Chinatown/22nd Street entrance ramp to outbound I-55 will be closed from Saturday through October, as will the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) to the outbound Stevenson, the outbound exit ramp to northbound La Grange Road and the outbound entrance ramp from northbound La Grange Road.
For more details and a list of alternate routes, call 312-DOT-INFO or browse the Mission I-55 Web site at www.missionI55.com.
