Final testing on the Kennedy Expressway reversible lanes started Thursday.
The lanes were supposed to reopen in October, but officials said they needed more time to test new technology.
The lanes are now scheduled to reopen a week from next Monday, or Jan. 13.
After that, there will be a window of about two months to enjoy a construction-free Kennedy. In the spring, the third phase of the Kennedy Expressway project begins on the outbound lanes.
The overall $150 million Kennedy Expressway reconstruction project—which affects I-90/94 from the Edens Expressway split to Ohio Street, is taking place across three construction seasons. The inbound Kennedy was finished in 2023, while work on the outbound lanes will start next spring.
The focus in 2024 was the express lanes and the Reversible Lane Access Control, or REVLAC system. The REVLAC system controls the gates and block off certain ramps and determine whether traffic is in bound or outbound.
IDOT officials said the work on the outbound lanes this year should take just about as long as the current portion, because the reversals have two lanes, and the outbounds have four.
For more information on the Kennedy Expressway construction project, visit IDOT.Illinois.gov.
