Honeymoon’s over, drivers: Chicago traffic, construction and congestion on the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) will soon return as the Illinois Department of Transportation prepares for the third and final phase of its multi-million dollar rehabilitation project.
At 11 a.m. Tuesday, officials with IDOT will hold a media briefing to discuss the upcoming construction, provide a timeline and answer questions about the project, according to a release. The update will stream in the video player above once it begins.
The news conference comes just three months after the reversible express lanes on the Kennedy Expressway opened back up — one month behind schedule — for business in both directions after 10-month closure, leaving to lengthy delays and long commute times in and out of the city.
The closure of the lanes spanned only 7.5 miles, but fell at a “crucial” point in commutes from the North and Northwest Suburbs, NBC 5 Traffic Reporter Kye Martin noted, with more than 275,000 drivers on that stretch of road each day.
More closures are set to begin in Spring 2025, IDOT has said, as part of the third and final stage of the construction. A previous IDOT announcement said parts of the outbound Kennedy Expressway from Ohio Street to the Edens junction will close as part of Phase three, along with inbound express lanes.
The first phase of the project, which completed in 2023, closed inbound lanes for months, along with outbound express lanes.
According to officials, the entire project is expected to wrap up by the end of 2025.