Chicagoland commuters will experience more headaches than usual when traveling on the Kennedy Expressway as the three-year construction project gets underway Monday night.
Work is scheduled to begin Monday at 10 p.m. on the 7.5-mile stretch of highway and last through the summer. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2025.
For the first phase, the two left-hand lane entries will be closed until July, while the right-hand lane will be closed for upgrades.
Major delays are expected for commuters headed to the city starting Tuesday morning, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. More than 275,000 vehicles travel on the road every day.
Transport officials are advising passengers to find other ways to travel or to adjust working hours. Metra has revised its schedule on the UP Northwest Line starting April 3 to add 12 trains to its weekday service lineup.
The express line on the Kennedy Expressway would be intended for southbound traffic only to help de-stress the project.
Bridges along the expressway will be demolished and replaced over the course of the project, taking about five weeks per bridge, according to IDOT.
Construction on the Kennedy Expressway would affect Chicago travel for the next three summers.
Illinois Department of Transportation
The larger highway leading to the expressway may be reserved as a result of construction as well, but exits and ramps are not expected to be closed.
Over the next two summers, construction was planned for the north line and the express line.
Tuesday is expected to be cloudy with moderate temperatures. Some winds are expected, with gusts of up to 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service.