‘A pretty aggressive timeline’: Five things to know about Kennedy construction 3.0

More than eight months of Kennedy Expressway construction slog begins this week and there’s some key details to know, especially for drivers headed to O’Hare International Airport or the Jane Addams Tollway.

Crews began setting up work zones Monday evening prior to sinking their teeth into rehabbing 19 bridges and patching pavement between Ohio Street and the Edens Expressway.

In 2025, the focus is on the expressway’s outbound lanes, Illinois Department of Transportation engineers said at a briefing.

In many ways, “this is going to be identical to year one,” IDOT District 1 Bureau Chief of Construction Jon Schumacher said, referring to 2023 when workers fixed the inbound lanes by early December.

IDOT will close the two left lanes of the outbound Kennedy for the first stage of construction, which lasts through mid-July, and open the reversible/express lanes to outbound traffic exclusively.

Drivers should be aware that once committed to the express lanes there’s no exit until the Edens Expressway at Foster Avenue.

“If you’re going out to O’Hare, you need to stay in the local lanes. We anticipate this being the most complicated issue of this first stage,” Schumacher said.

“We do anticipate there are going to be some cars that make it into the express lanes that want to go to O’Hare.”

If that happens, don’t despair. Vehicles can exit at Foster and rejoin the westbound Kennedy and continue onto the airport or other destinations.

IDOT plans to blanket the area with warning and directional signs.

Here’s four other important aspects of the three-year, $169 million project.

• What’s happening this week?

Starting Monday and over the next two to three nights, IDOT will be setting up barriers and other preparatory work.

“By the end of the week, the two left (outbound Kennedy) lanes will be closed from Ohio Street to the junction. During that time we will have express lanes open in the outbound direction, providing four lanes of traffic for motorists,” Schumacher said.

• How long will the project last?

This being “the third year, we’ve had quite a few learning experiences that we’re applying to the outbound direction. So we’re anticipating completing by Thanksgiving,” Schumacher said.

“It’s a pretty aggressive timeline but we’re confident they’re going to be able to do it.”

• The original project cost was $150 million. Why did that change?

Extra costs came from additional pavement patching and bridge work, Schumacher said.

• What are the next phases of the project?

From mid-July to Thanksgiving, construction will switch to the right outbound lanes. Outbound vehicles on the reversible/express lanes will be allowed to exit at Keller/Kostner avenues back onto the mainline Kennedy and Edens.

IDOT also advises drivers to anticipate ramp closures.

But there won’t be two consecutive exit ramps or two consecutive entrance ramps closed, “in an attempt to not make people go too far out of their way,” Schumacher said.

“Ramps will be closed anywhere from two weeks to six weeks depending on their proximity to the bridge work.”