>>> IF YOU DRIVE THE KENNEDY EXPRESSWAY, GET READY TO HIT THE BRAKES.
STARTING MONDAY, A NEW MULTIYEAR RENOVATION PROJECT IS SET TO MESS WITH YOUR DRIVE TIMES, AND EVENTUALLY MOVE THINGS OUT.
JOINING US IS JOHN SHOEMAKER, DISTRICT 1 , THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
THIS $150 MILLION PROJECT EXPECTED OVER THREE CONSTRUCTION SEASONS, MOST CHICAGOANS ARE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT CONSTRUCTION SEASON IS.
THEY WILL BE REHABBING 36 BRIDGE STRUCTURES.
>> MOTORISTS TRAVELING OVER THE BRIDGES CAN EXPECT CURRENT CONDITIONS OF A LOT OF POTHOLES, SO THE REPAIRS WILL INVOLVE TAKING A WATER BLASTER OVER THE TOP OF THE DECK AND IT'S GOING TO BLASTOFF ALL OF THE LOOSE CONCRETE .
AND THEN WE DO SOME PATCHING TO MAKE SURE WE FIX ALL THE PARTS OF THE DECK THAT NEED TO BE FIXED.
THEN WE WILL END UP DOING A LATEX OVERLAY OVER THE TOP , IT IS GOING TO PROVIDE A NICE SMOOTH SURFACE, IT'LL ALSO ACT AS A WATER BARRIER TO PREVENT WALT AND SALT FROM PENETRATING INTO THE DECK .
>> HOW MIGHT THIS AFFECT LANES AND DELAYS?
WHAT KIND OF CLOSURES CAN THEY EXPECT?
>> YOU MENTIONED IT IS A THREE-YEAR PROJECT, SO PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN 2023.
THAT IS GOING TO BE PRIMARILY INBOUND , ON THE INBOUND KENNEDY STARTING MONDAY NIGHT.
THE PUBLIC WILL SEE THE FIRST REAL IMPACT TUESDAY MORNING.
WE WILL START AT THE NORTH END BY THE END OF THE JUNCTION, IT IS GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH HUBBARD'S CAVE, IT'LL TAKE APPROXIMATELY FIVE NIGHTS, BUT ONCE IT IS FULLY STAGED, THEY WILL HAVE THE TWO RIGHT LANES STILL AVAILABLE ON THE KENNEDY ITSELF, AND THE REVERSIBLE LANES ARE GOING TO BE SET FOR THE INBOUND CONTINUATION, SO WE WILL BE MAINTAINING FOUR LANES THROUGHOUT.
GO AHEAD.
>> I WAS GOING TO REITERATE SOMETHING THAT YOU MENTIONED, BECAUSE YOU BROKE UP A LITTLE BIT, INBOUND, TWO LEFT LANES FROM THE JUNCTION ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HUBBARD CAVE TO BEGIN.
YOU ARE ALSO PLANNING WORK ON THE REVERSIBLE LANE ACCESS CONTROL, AS MOST OF US KNOW THAT IS THE EXPRESS LANE.
WHAT IS THE WORK DONE THERE?
>> THAT IS THE SECOND PART OF THIS FIRST PROJECT, WE WILL BE DOING THE DECK AS WELL.
AND WE WILL ALSO BE REPLACING THE ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM WHICH ARE ALL OF THE RAMPS AND ENTRANCES AND EXITS, AND THE REVERSIBLE LANES THAT CONTROL TRAFFIC AND DICTATE WHICH WAY THEY ARE FLOWING.
THOSE WERE CONSTRUCTED IN THE 1970S, AND THEY ARE USING THE SAME TECHNOLOGY TODAY.
SO, HOPEFULLY IT'LL ALLOW THE DEPARTMENT AND MUCH EASIER AND MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THEM.
>> AND YOU SAID 1970S FOR THE EXPRESS LANE, THE REVERSIBLE'S , WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BRIDGES YOU ARE WORKING ON?
>> THE BRIDGES THEMSELVES ARE OVER 50 YEARS OLD AND THE LAST MAJOR REHABILITATION WAS IN THE EARLY 90s.
WE ARE GOING ON 31 YEARS SINCE THE LAST MAJOR REHABILITATION .
THE BRIDGE DECKS HAVE PERFORMED WELL, JUST IN TIME FOR THE NEXT MAJOR REHABILITATION.
>> WHAT KIND OF UPDATES ARE YOU MAKING?
THERE'S SOME PAINTING AND LIGHTING DONE AS WELL?
>> CORRECT, SINCE WE HAVE THE LANES CLOSED, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE WE ARE GETTING ALL THE WORK DONE AT THE SAME TIME.
SO WE WILL ALSO BE DOING SOME PAVEMENT PATCHING .
AND WE WILL ALSO BE REPLACING THE SIGNING STRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR, UPDATING THE LIGHTING TO NEW L.E.D.
LIGHTS, AND ALSO PAINTING THE STRUCTURAL STEEL THAT MAKES UP HUBBARD CAVE.
>> AND WHEN DOES THE OUTBOUND WORK START?
>> THAT IS GOING TO BE THE THIRD YEAR, 2025, THAT WILL BE A VERY SIMILAR TIMEFRAME , AS WHERE WE HAD FOR 2023, WE WILL START THE LEFT LANES FIRST, THEN APPROXIMATELY LATE JULY WE WILL SWITCH TRAFFIC AND CLOSE THE RIGHT OUTSIDE LANES IN 2025.
>> WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO DRIVERS TACKLING THIS NEW COMMUTE?
>> WE ARE ASKING DRIVERS TO HONESTLY JUST BE PATIENT AND FLEXIBLE.
AS ONE CAN IMAGINE, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME VERY SUBSTANTIAL TRAVEL IMPACTS.
WHETHER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS AN OPTION FOR PEOPLE, THAT WOULD BE A NICE ALTERNATIVE, OBVIOUSLY THERE IS NOT A ROADWAY ALTERNATIVE THAT WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO TAKE.
COMMUTERS CAN ALSO TRAVEL ON THE EISENHOWER, ALSO IN ADDITION TO POTENTIAL ALTERNATE ROUTES OR MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, WE ARE RECOMMENDING PEOPLE LOOK INTO PERHAPS CHANGING THEIR WORK HOURS, IF THEY CAN COME IN A COUPLE HOURS EARLIER OR LATER, THAT ALSO MIGHT HELP MINIMIZE THE TRAVEL IMPACTS.
ALSO, REMOTE OPTIONS FOR WORK THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE.
ALL OF THESE OPTIONS WILL HELP MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF TRAFFIC ON THE PUBLIC.
>> ANY ANTICIPATED SETBACKS?
ARE YOU WEARY THAT IT MIGHT TAKE LONGER AND COST A LOT MORE?
ANY CHALLENGES THAT YOU MIGHT FORESEE?
>> WITH THIS TYPE OF PROJECT, BECAUSE IT IS A REHABILITATION PROJECT, THE UNKNOWNS ARE A LITTLE MORE CERTAIN, WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE GETTING OURSELVES INTO.
I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK BACK TO OTHER PROJECTS AND HOW IT TOOK A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED .
THIS IS A RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT WHERE YOU ARE DIGGING INTO THE GROUND.
THERE ARE CONDITIONS THAT MIGHT BE WORSE THAN YOU ANTICIPATED , BUT WITH REHABILITATION PROJECTS, THE SCOPE IS MUCH MORE NARROW SO THERE'S NOT AS MANY UNKNOWNS, SO WE ARE PRETTY CONFIDENT IN
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