The last year of the Kennedy Expressway overhaul was scheduled to start Monday night, reducing the number of outbound lanes and making the reversible express lanes exclusively outbound until the fall.
The inbound reversible express lanes will become completely outbound Tuesday morning, just two months after they reopened following a year of repairs, the Illinois Department of Transportation said in a news release. Two outbound lanes will also close.
The reversible lanes’ mid-gate entrance and exit will also remain closed through mid-July; drivers heading to O’Hare won’t be able to use the express lanes.
“With the work zone starting to go into place with Tuesday morning’s rush, the use of alternative routes and public transportation is once again strongly encouraged,” the agency said in a statement Monday.
Construction is expected to wrap up in late November.
The work is the final phase of the three-year project, with work to the reversible lanes being completed last year and work on the inbound lanes being done in 2023. The overall $169 million Kennedy project includes upgrades to 36 bridge structures and the reversible lane system.