I-88 lane closure snarls traffic to northbound 294

Eastbound motorists on I-88 were introduced to the latest construction season traffic impediment Wednesday as one of the exit lanes to northbound I-294 was blocked for pending bridge repairs.

The lane closure snarled traffic from the junction, east of Oak Brook, to Highland Avenue in Downers Grove.

"Historically, when traffic shifts go into place traffic is initially bad and then motorists become accustomed to the changes," said Joelle McGinnis, a tollway spokeswoman. "It will improve."

The tollway is repairing four bridges in the area that includes junctions to and from I-88, I-294 and I-290. The project has been scheduled since 2004 and costs $13 million as part of the tollway's $6.3 billion overall congestion relief program, McGinnis said. The work is expected to last into the fall.

The work on the bridge that impacted I-88 traffic Wednesday calls for one of the two ramp lanes onto northbound I-294 to be closed for the next four months.

Further construction woes await many motorists as the adjacent Eisenhower Expressway is fraught with lane closings as a 27-mile stretch is being resurfaced by Illinois Department of Transportation workers. Some commuters are using I-294 as an alternative to the Eisenhower.

McGinnis said tollway officials discussed their work with IDOT officials, but the bridge repairs could not be put off any longer. Some of the structures are more than 50 years old, she said.

"We were out there in the middle of winter making repairs to bridges in that area because of how old they are," she said.

The bridge repair closures are the latest headache for motorists trying to avoid major construction projects. Road crews are repaving parts of Roosevelt Road and North Avenue near a section of I-355, which also is undergoing a major renovation.