By Madeline Makoul
As work on the Jane Byrne Interchange moves forward, limited lanes and ongoing construction continue to affect motorists. The longstanding project started in 2013, and government officials expect it to wrap up in 2022.
Led by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the project has kept the interchange, where the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, and Eisenhower Expressways meet, open to motorists as construction continues.
According to Maria Castaneda, IDOT communications manager, the project is on target to finish at the end of 2022, and will help people besides drivers.
“The overall reconstruction project at the Jane Byrne Interchange [JBI] will improve safety and traffic flow for the more than 400,000 motorists who use it each day while also enhancing mobility for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users in the surrounding neighborhoods,” Castaneda said.
Experts and motorists alike remain skeptical, however, because of current interchange conditions. Joseph Schwieterman, DePaul University professor in the public policy department of the School of Public Service and Sustainable Urban Development Program, said that not only does the interchange see continued backup but the project itself has taken far too long to complete.
“I think as much as I want to be sympathetic to the project’s complexity, it is simply dragging out too long,” Schwieterman said. “We have to find ways to modernize infrastructure in less painful ways than what we are witnessing here.”
Congestion remains
While the interchange remaining open allows more than 400,000 vehicles to pass through daily, the pre-construction congestion remains.
Schwieterman said the Eisenhower Expressway has a reputation of being “one of the most congested highways in the country,” and while the interchange project should address this issue, he noted the project’s length and traffic backups “add to that reputation.”
Schwieterman described traveling on the Dan Ryan as “stimuli overload,” with visual distractions as well as frequent on and off ramps that make traveling confusing, remarking that it is no wonder motorists get confused.
“The configuration of the new interchange is very complicated with flying crossovers and narrow cloverleafs,” Schwieterman said. “If you were to design a city from scratch, you certainly wouldn’t build it this way. You would build it further from downtown where you have a little more room to work with.”
Castaneda said current traffic flow results from ongoing construction because the interchange remains open while workers make improvements, yet that fact does not mean it will be congested always.
That comes as good news to those concerned that traffic moving from the Eisenhower to the northbound Kennedy and the southbound Dan Ryan remains backed up and dangerous.
“At this time, any traffic patterns in the JBI construction zone would be anecdotal,” Castaneda said. “As a result of ongoing construction within the interchange and on its approaches, vehicle detection” (in which highway managers count cars and observe traffic patterns and reconfigure thoroughfares accordingly) “has been temporarily eliminated. Anecdotally, traffic is flowing well relative to previous lane configurations. The overall volume of traffic in the interchange remains very high compared to other locations.”
P.S. Sriraj, director of the University of Illinois Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and director of the Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative, said traffic on the interchange has continued to increase over the years, especially truck traffic, creating capacity constraints as demand of the JBI only continues to rise. However, Sriraj noted other constraints affect the interchange’s remodeling.
IDOT “is trying to use the same footprint and maximize as much as they can, given the area they are working with, and that’s a major issue,” Sriraj said. “Even as they try to fix and adjust lanes, there may need to be other demand strategies and mechanisms to soften the load on the interchange. I’m not saying this won’t be effective, but over a period of time it’s going to get caught up.”
Sriraj, like Castaneda, does not believe the current state of traffic necessarily signals how interchange backups will be once construction concludes. Not only is construction continuing as drivers use the interchange, causing limited working hours and progress, but Sriraj noted a possible increase in motorists on the roads as public transportation ridership continues downward in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Additionally, Castaneda said any limited lanes contributing to the backup are just a part of the ongoing construction.
“In late December, the ramp from the inbound Dan Ryan to the Eisenhower was opened back to two lanes,” she explained. “The lanes were previously reduced to accommodate construction of new pavement and other improvements. However, lanes have been reduced and/or shifted, and impacts are still anticipated along the Kennedy and Dan Ryan between Roosevelt Road and Madison Street to accommodate construction of the mainline lanes.”
While ongoing construction certainly affects current travel, Sriraj described dramatically worse consequences from closing the interchange fully in light of the JBI’s importance for traveling motorists as well as trucks.
“Can they do something better?” Sriraj asked. “Most definitely. But given what they have been constrained with—keeping the footprint the same and keeping everything open—this is probably the best that could be done. The alternative is unthinkable. Closing the entire interchange for maybe two or three years. Putting a brand new interchange in its place complete with flyovers and other mechanisms to divert traffic in a seamless manner and bypass congestion heading to the Loop. Yes, there’s a whole bunch of things that can be designed, but they cost a lot more” in both dollars and disruptions.
Future plans
With JBI construction set to continue for another year, many improvements are yet to come, and planners still feel such upgrades will eliminate lane changing problems and backups.
“Upcoming work includes the construction of a new inbound collector-distributor road,” Castaneda said. “The new design will improve safety and efficiency and reduce conflict points by relocating the left-hand entrance ramps at Jackson and Adams streets, along with separating the exit ramps to Washington Boulevard and Lake, Madison, and Randolph Streets from mainline traffic.”
Additionally, IDOT has reconstructed the bridges at both Monroe and Van Buren Streets. The Adams Street and Jackson Boulevard bridges over the Kennedy remain closed for reconstruction that will begin in 2022 to “increase capacity on the mainline expressway lanes and ramps,” Castaneda said.
As construction heads into its final leg, Schwieterman is looking to the future, with the need for this interchange to flow more seamlessly of top priority.
“It will be a tragedy if the project is completed and we find ourselves with another Hillside Strangler-type bottleneck,” Schwieterman reflected. “This is a once-in-a-generation chance to get it right, and let’s hope when the project is complete and motorists gain familiarity that the backups will slow down.”
For more updates on the JBI construction project, visit www.janebyrneinterchange.org/.
For more on IDOT, log on to idot.illinois.gov. To contact Schwieterman, email [email protected]. To contact Sriraj, email [email protected].