After more than a year of major congestion, lane closures and traffic bottlenecks in and out of downtown Chicago from the Kennedy Expressway, the Ohio and Ontario Street bridges over the Chicago River are set to finally reopen.
Lanes on the feeder bridges, which bring Kennedy drivers into the city at Ohio Street and out of the city at Ontario, are anticipated to reopen starting during the Thursday morning commute, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
According to IDOT, the bridges will each have three lanes open, up from the narrow two that has caused major traffic headaches for drivers.
As of 5:30 a.m. Thursday, IDOT was still working to finish its final overnight “punch list” for the Ohio Street bridge going east, NBC 5 traffic reporter Kye Martin said, though it was expected to open as the morning goes on.
“Should be reopening any minute now,” Martin said.
Thursday night, Ontario street will be closed from Orleans to the Kennedy Expressway in order to finish final work. By 5 a.m. Friday, the Ontario Street feeder to the outbound Kennedy was expected to fully reopen, IDOT said.
The last bit of work comes as IDOT applies new pavement markings and removes traffic barricades.
“The public can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area,” IDOT says, as the closures come to an end and reopening begins. “Alternate routes are encouraged. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limits and be on the alert for workers and equipment.”
The $15.4 million project “replaced bridge expansion joints, structural steel and deck repairs along with the installation of a new deck overlay and resurfacing on the elevated bridges,” IDOT said. It was a separate project from the three-year rehabilitation of the Kennedy Expressway that concluded last fall.
As the highly anticipated reopening comes, more work on the bridges is still needed, IDOT said, with concrete paving patching to repair both ramps to each bridge set to occur later this summer. That work will require a “full closure” over three weekends, alternating between Ohio and Ontario streets between the Kennedy and Orleans.
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