Bridges, Highways, The L And Congress Are All Conspiring To Make You Crazy

By JoshMogerman in News on Apr 21, 2012 8:05PM

Trying to get around Chicago this weekend? It will be a bit more complicated than usual with some pretty massive transportation infrastructure projects kicking off and winding down. Here’s what you need to know:

• Congress Bridge…Open!?!?! Well, partially. Congress Parkway, the entryway to downtown from the eastbound Eisenhower Expressway, has been a nightmare for two years. Bridge reconstruction work has taken far more time than anyone expected because substandard work from previous upgrades on the span has had to be re-repaired. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel under the old Post Office. Finally, all inbound lanes on the bridge are officially open as of today, though outbound traffic remains limited to one lane due to the lower Wacker construction work near the east end of the bridge.
• Dan Ryan Closures. The news isn’t as good further south where I-94/95 was slated to be closed from 35th and 58th streets for repair work on Saturday (though we can report it was open this morning). To the Illinois Department of Transportation’s credit, they did choose a day when the Sox were out of town.
• Loop L Repairs. Oh, but the pain is not limited to drivers… Expect your weekend L ride in the Loop to be a ton more complicated for a while as a major track replacement project re-routes the CTA’s Orange and Pink lines that should take months. Currently, the impacted lines will run on the outer Brown line tracks.
• Red Line Slow Downs. Red line riders have their own impending pain, as slow zones at the north and south end of the line are both set to be addressed soon too.

What does that mean, beyond a crappier than usual time moving around this weekend? Well, the good news is that there is a ton of much-needed cash going into Chicago transportation infrastructure at the moment to keep the "City That Works" moving during the workweek. The bad news is that the games in DC continue to imperil the resources for these sorts of repairs in the future. After loud public response to political brinksmanship over re-upping federal funding for roads, bridges, mass transit and bike paths, the Senate passed a bipartisan transportation bill weeks ago. The House passed a very different bill this week that seems to be peppered with an array of unrelated political hot potatoes (and debunked gas price claims) that have set up yet another fight as the two bills are hammered out in the coming weeks. It appears even your commute is not immune to the rancor that is Washington these days.