Additional lanes available along South Lake Shore Drive
As the South Lake Shore Drive reconstruction project moves toward the halfway point, drivers will soon have more available lanes.
Starting Friday evening, Dec. 20, motorists will see an additional lane in each direction between 23rd and 47th streets Ð providing at least three lanes of travel in each direction all the way from 23rd to 53rd.
The new lanes are possible because crews are completing work on the new southbound pavement in Burnham Park. Two lanes are also open between 53rd and 57th streets.
The movable barrier system that had been in place to provide an extra lane for morning and afternoon rush-hour traffic will take on a new, temporary role as a median barrier throughout the winter. The reversible lane will return in February.
Work also continues in Jackson Park, where the southbound lanes of the Drive are completely closed south of 57th Street. Traffic detours west on 57th, then south on Cornell, then back to the Drive via Marquette.
This traffic configuration will be in place for the next several weeks. The next change could occur as early as February, when work is scheduled to begin on the new northbound pavement between 57th Drive and 23rd Street. The actual start date will depend on the weather.
The $162 million South Lake Shore Drive reconstruction project, which is completely rebuilding a 6-mile stretch from 23rd to 67th, remains on schedule and within budget. Roadway work will be complete by the end of 2003, and the recreational and pedestrian amenities Ð including five new pedestrian underpasses in Jackson Park Ð will be done in spring 2004.
For more information, please visit the CDOT Web site at:
www.cityofchicago.org/Transportation.
