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Kennedy Expressway construction: Inbound work zone shift begins

By Fox 32 Digital Staff
Published  August 30, 2023 7:35am CDT
Traffic
FOX 32 Chicago

Inbound Kennedy Expressway reduced to 1 lane overnight

More changes are coming to the Kennedy Expressway as IDOT continues its massive rehabilitation project. The inbound lanes will be reduced to one and a couple ramps will close for a work zone shift Wednesday night.

CHICAGO - Closures are scheduled on the Kennedy Expressway this week to shift the final section of the rehabilitation work on the inbound lanes. 

Motorists should expect various ramp and lane closures on the inbound Kennedy, between Webster Avenue and Ohio Street starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday, IDOT said. 

At least one inbound lane will remain open at all times. The reversible express lanes will not be impacted. By 5 a.m. Thursday, the ramps and lanes that were closed overnight will reopen. 

To complete the stage change, the inbound Kennedy ramp to Ohio Street is scheduled to close from 9 p.m. Thursday, to 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1.

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Chicago commuters deal with traffic headache as Kennedy Expressway construction begins

The first barricades went up overnight along the Kennedy Expressway Monday night, the beginning of a three-year reconstruction between the Edens Expressway and Ohio Street.

IDOT says there will be two temporary ramp closures that will last through late October. The Inbound Kennedy to North Avenue and the Armitage Avenue to inbound Kennedy will also close Wednesday at 9 p.m. as part of the ongoing bridge rehabilitation and ramp repairs. 

The following ramp closures will remain in place through September: 

  • Irving Park Road (Illinois 19) to inbound Kennedy, anticipated to reopen late September.
  • Kimball Avenue to inbound Kennedy, anticipated to reopen late September.
  • Sacramento Avenue to inbound Kennedy, anticipated to reopen mid-September.
  • Wilson Avenue to inbound Kennedy, anticipated to reopen mid-September.
  • Inbound Kennedy to California Avenue, anticipated to reopen late September.

The overall inbound Kennedy project is anticipated to be completed late fall, with all lanes and ramps reopening and the express lanes resuming normal operations. The express lanes will be worked on in 2024, with project focused on the outbound Kennedy in 2025.