First 'Carmaggedeon' Weekend Mostly Minor In—car—venience

By Jon Graef in News on Jun 15, 2014 7:00PM

Photo credit: John Caruso

The eastbound Kennedy Expressway reopened early Sunday morning, nearly 24 hours ahead of schedule, after closing Friday for three weekends of many overdue repairs. (They included completely rebuilding the Ontario Street feeder ramps and the Ohio Street bridge, respectively.)

Because work on the project is apparently going so swimmingly, 'Carmaggedeon' is turning out to be just a minor in-car-venience. Not only did the Kennedy reopen earlier than planned, the project itself will now take one less weekend to complete, according to what the Illinois Department of Transportation told the Chicago Tribune:

IDOT's surprise evening announcement capped a relatively smooth day for motorists and transportation officials who worried the Kennedy construction project would trigger a traffic disaster. But many drivers heading downtown opted for other routes or packed Metra and CTA trains. While there were delays, the feared "carmageddon" never materialized.

The project required closing the Kennedy's inbound and reversible lanes from about 1 mile north of Ohio Street to Hubbard Street. Inbound traffic was squeezed into two 15 mph temporary lanes built to accommodate the detour, IDOT said.

According to the Tribune, the Illinois State Police reported no major accidents, while Metra officials said ridership was higher than usual. So things were relatively normal. Dogs and cats maintained a respectable distance from one another, and the world went on. (Impressive considering the influxes of people into the city coming from Chicago Blues Fest and World Naked Bike Ride, respectively.)

WE DID IT EVERYBODY!

Now let's tackle gun violence.