This is the entire press release (exact copy) for the Jane Byrne Interchange construction project to begin Saturday, March 7th, 2015.

PDF for Download – Jane Byrne Flyover News Release_2ZP3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
February 17, 2014 Carson Quinn 312.814.4693
Guy Tridgell 312.793.4199
Jane Byrne Flyover Construction Begins March 7

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced today that
construction of a new flyover bridge as part of the ongoing Jane Byrne Interchange
reconstruction is scheduled to begin, weather permitting, on March 7.

The start of the project, which involves building a new bridge connecting the inbound Dan Ryan
Expressway (Interstate 90/94) to the outbound Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290), will
require several lane and ramp closures until Summer 2016.

The closures and the impacts to traffic include:

• The ramp from the inbound Dan Ryan to inbound Congress Parkway will be closed. A
  detour route will be posted, directing motorists to exit on Roosevelt Road to access
  Congress Parkway via Jefferson, Harrison and Wells streets. The ramp from the inbound
  Dan Ryan to the outbound Eisenhower will remain open, but shifted to a temporary
  roadway.
• The inbound and outbound Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) ramps to the Dan Ryan
  will be reduced from two lanes to one lane.
  The right lane of the inbound Dan Ryan from the Stevenson to Roosevelt Road will be
  closed.
• The ramp from Roosevelt Road to I-290/Congress Parkway will be closed. Detour routes
  will be posted. Motorists will be directed to continue east on Roosevelt Road to connect
  with Congress Parkway via Jefferson, Harrison and Wells streets. To connect with the
  outbound Eisenhower, they will be directed to continue west Roosevelt Road and utilize
  Ashland Avenue and Van Buren Street.
• The ramp from Taylor Street to the inbound Dan Ryan will be closed. A detour route will
  be posted, directing motorists to connect with the inbound Dan Ryan from Taylor Street
  via Jefferson Street and the Adams Street entrance ramp.
• The ramp from the inbound Dan Ryan to the outbound Eisenhower will remain open, but shifted to a temporary roadway. The new four lanes from Roosevelt Street to Van Buren Street will be narrowed.

Motorists should expect delays and allow extra time for trips through this area. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limits and be on the alert for workers and equipment.
The flyover will replace the existing single-lane, winding ramp with a two-lane ramp and bridge that begins just south of Roosevelt Road and arches over Harrison Street, the rest of the Jane Byrne Interchange, and Halsted Street, before connecting to the outbound Eisenhower near Morgan Street. From ramp to ramp, the entire structure will be about one mile in length. Additional components of the project include enhanced lighting and signage.

Later this summer and fall, IDOT, in conjunction with the City of Chicago, will be scheduling closures on some parts of the expressway system at the Jane Byrne Interchange to facilitate the placement of the flyover’s beams. During those weekends, access to Congress Parkway will be closed to incoming Eisenhower traffic and multiple lanes will be closed on the Dan Ryan and Kennedy expressways.
Once complete, the flyover will improve efficiency, traffic flow and safety for the approximately 400,000 motorists that drive through the Jane Byrne Interchange each day

The four-year, $475 million overhaul of the Jane Byrne Interchange will relieve congestion at one of the country’s worst bottlenecks. The interchange where the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways and Congress Parkway meet was built in the 1950s and 1960s, and has long outlived its original design. The project includes upgrading the surrounding bridge, roadway and drainage systems. The improvements are estimated to reduce traffic delays by at least 50 percent, saving motorists an anticipated 5 million hours in travel time and 1.6 million gallons of gas each year.
For more information on the Jane Byrne Interchange, including a live, streaming high-resolution view of the project, visit www.CircleInterchange.org.

Find details on other construction projects in IDOT’s District 1 at http://goo.gl/upgvZu. Updates on the impacts to traffic are available at www.travelmidwest.com. For regular updates on this and other projects, please follow IDOT on Facebook and Twitter.

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