Chicago Construction to Require Closure of Interstates 80, 94

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he Illinois Department of Transportation said it would begin full closures of the Kingery Expressway corridor, which includes sections of Interstates 80 and 94, on June 18 as crews construct a bridge in Chicago’s south suburbs during overnight hours.

“This is a huge, huge traveled area and the congestion is going to be incredible,” George Billows, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Association, told Transport Topics.

IDOT said the expressway would be closed for periods as brief as 15 minutes, and as long as eight hours. The closures would last at least seven weeks and perhaps into September, the department said.

“Delivery times could be delayed up to three or four hours, depending on alternate routes,” Billows said.

On average, more than 32,000 heavy trucks travel the affected interstates daily, IDOT said.

Even with nighttime work, Billows said the closures could create a traffic jam “for five or six miles, including a back up onto the Indiana tollway.”