In early March, drivers can expect the following changes as Illinois Department of Transportation’s Road Doctors begin drainage improvements and construction of new pavement, bridges and sound walls on the outbound lanes of the Bishop Ford Expressway and Illinois Route 394.
Bishop Ford Expressway (Interstate 94)
Maintain the current two lanes of traffic in each direction south of One-hundred and Fifty-Ninth Street.
Outbound traffic will cross over to the newly paved inbound lanes south of One-hundred and Fifty-Ninth Street.
The lanes on the outbound Bishop Ford that connect to the eastbound Kingery Expressway will jog to the right near One-hundred and Seventieth Street.
Outbound Bishop Ford traffic traveling to the Tri-State Tollway also will jog to the right near One-hundred and Seventieth Street to access the ramp to the Tri-State Tollway. The ramp from the outbound Bishop Ford to the Tri-State Tollway will remain open through late July.
The lane on the outbound Bishop Ford that continues to southbound Illinois Route 394 will stay to the left, on the new inbound Bishop Ford pavement near One-hundred and Seventieth Street.
The eastbound One-hundred and Fifty-Ninth Street entrance ramp to the outbound Bishop Ford will be closed at various times during 2006 to allow for construction of new culverts and pavement. During ramp closures, a short detour will be posted to direct traffic through a “triple loop” to the inbound Bishop Ford entrance ramp, then immediately to the exit ramp to westbound One-hundred and Fifty-Ninth Street, and finally to the entrance ramp to the outbound Bishop Ford. Signs will be posted on the ramp at least seven days prior to all closures.
Prince Drive, a frontage road just west of the Bishop Ford, will be closed to through traffic between One-hundred and Fifty-Ninth Street and One-hundred and Seventieth Street in 2006 for about 60 days.
Illinois Route 394
Southbound Illinois Route 394 traffic will remain on the newly paved inbound lanes through the I-80/94/294 interchange from One-hundred and Seventieth Street to south of Thornton-Lansing Road. At Thornton-Lansing, traffic will cross over the median and return to the outbound lanes, which will open to two lanes.
The ramp from eastbound I-80/southbound I-294 that merges into southbound Illinois Route 394 near Thornton-Lansing Road will remain open.
The left lane on northbound Illinois Route 394 will close from south of Thornton-Lansing Road through the I-80/94/294 interchange to the junction with the inbound Bishop Ford.
In early March, the ramp from westbound I-80 to southbound Illinois Route 394 will be closed to allow for construction of the new southbound Illinois Route 394 bridge over I-80. This ramp will be replaced by a new flyover bridge due to open in late fall 2006.
Permanent signals on Torrence Avenue at One-hundred and Seventy-Sixth Place will be turned on, and the temporary signals on Torrence at One-hundred and Seventy-Fifth Street and One-hundred and Seventy-Seventh Street will be removed.
This work is part of the $430 million Kingery Expressway reconstruction project. Work began in 2003 and will continue through 2007. The completed project will include an additional traffic lane, high-mast tower lighting, retaining and sound walls to reduce expressway noise in surrounding residential areas and reconfigured interchanges at Torrence Avenue and the Bishop Ford Expressway/ Illinois Route 394 junction.
For more information, call 877-411-4368 or go to www.kingeryexpressway.com.
