CHICAGO – Frustration continues for drivers using the Kennedy Expressway as the back lanes remain closed, nearly nine months into the work on this part of the project.
“Never,” Governor JB Pritzker replied with a laugh when asked about the completion date for the current phase of the Kennedy Expressway construction project.
On Wednesday morning, the new signs gave a small glimpse, but there is not yet a final date for the work being done on the two Kennedy lanes that will be repeated.
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WGN-TV newsroom continues to get calls from drivers on the topic as travel times between O’Hare International Airport and downtown can be as high as 90 minutes.
Commuters in nearby Irving Park say not having a deadline is frustrating.
“I think you need to hold people’s feet to the fire and make sure these construction projects are done on time and under budget as much as possible,” Irving Park resident Andrew Yohanan said.
“Slow down” is the verbiage an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) spokesperson has been using for months.
WGN Investigates has previously received updates from contractors. They write an agreement to complete the date of October 31st. They also show, on some days, less than eight workers were at work.
IDOT has previously stated that much of the work being done now is behind the scenes on fiber optic cabling, cameras, connections and gates that allow traffic to be diverted away.
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“There is a plan they are doing right now. I don’t want to make promises about it, because we’ve all heard promises that haven’t been delivered in the past regarding Kennedy. But I will say that I’ve asked a lot of questions about it so I expect the work to move forward quickly,” Gov. Pritzker said.
WGN-TV reached out to IDOT for an update on the program but has not yet heard back.
The rerouted project is the second of three phases, all part of the multi-million dollar renovation of the Kennedy Expressway. The last phase is starting in 2025.
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