The Tri-State, Route 53, the Kennedy, oh my — What to expect on this year’s road construction menu

Take a deep breath and repeat, “it’s the last year of Kennedy construction!”

Sadly, that won’t help drivers on the Central Tri-State, where widening and repaving grinds on, or new corridors where projects are Whac-A-Moling.

But at least our annual road work overview will leave you prepared as we count the days until the bulldozers take their winter nap.

As the Illinois Department of Transportation wraps up a seismic, three-year Kennedy redo, the agency is pivoting to an ambitious Route 53 fix.

“This year, in addition to our smaller maintenance and improvement projects in the northwest suburbs, we are rehabilitating 9 miles along Illinois 53 from I-90 to Lake Cook Road,” IDOT District 1 Bureau Chief of Construction Jonathan Schumacher said.

“If you are traveling through any work zone, please stay patient, slow down, put down the devices and give them room to work.”

And at the Illinois tollway, “we’re poised for another big year,” Chief Engineer Manar Nashif said.

That includes a new toll road, I-490.

“I-490 is off the charts in terms of complexity,” Nashif noted.

Major regional projects include:

• Rehabbing the outbound lanes and bridges on the Kennedy Expressway (I-90) between Ohio Street and the Edens Expressway.

• Widening the Central Tri-State (I-294).

• Reconstructing I-80 in Will County.

• Building key interchanges on I-490 with I-90 near Des Plaines, Route 390 near Bensenville and I-294 near Franklin Park.

• Rehabbing Route 53 pavement and bridges between I-90 and Lake Cook Road. The first stage of work stretches from Kirchoff Road to Rand Road in Rolling Meadows, Palatine and Arlington Heights.

The tollway expects significant progress this year on the game-changing Route 390 and I-490 interchange leading into O’Hare International Airport.

“If traffic is traveling along York Road, they will no doubt see the crews that are out there starting to build bridges for ramps that will ultimately connect to the west side of the airport,” Nashif said.

I-490, which runs along the west flank of O’Hare, will open in 2027.

Another tollway priority is widening the Central Tri-State between Cermak Road and I-55.

“Our goal is to make even more progress this year and get a lot of that pavement constructed,” Nashif said. Work on the related I-88/I-290 interchange also continues.

The Central Tri-State project stretches for 22 miles. Segments between 95th Street and I-55, and between the Elmhurst area and Rosemont are open with five lanes in each direction. Completion is set for 2027.

Regarding the Kennedy Expressway, crews will be repairing bridges and pavement on the outbound lanes of the 7.5-mile stretch from the Edens Expressway to Ohio Street.

Other upgrades include new overhead sign structures and LED lights.

IDOT will keep two outbound lanes open on the Kennedy at all times and use the reversible lanes for outbound traffic as well.

Engineers anticipate construction should wrap up by Thanksgiving.

Minor tollway projects include roadway repairs on I-90 from Elgin to Rockford.

The agency also will be converting outdated toll plaza infrastructure to open lanes.

“On the old, manual sides, we still have barriers and big canopies,” Nashif said. Removing those will “really help us down the road — less maintenance cost, improved travel, more efficient.”

Drivers are reminded to watch for changing traffic patterns, follow work zone speed limits, and Scott’s Law requiring motorists to slow down or shift lanes when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road.