Crews closing Kennedy Expressway lanes for repairs

Three downtown Chicago entrance ramps to the Kennedy Expressway that have long made drivers nervous are closing for a time.

The westbound entrance ramps at Madison Street and Jackson Boulevard and the eastbound entrance ramp at Randolph Street are all being temporarily closed Saturday as part of a $9.3 million rehabilitation project designed to reduce crashes and help the flow of traffic.

Hundreds of accidents occur every year along that part of the Kennedy and authorities say that one reason is the design of the center-access entrance ramps.

Motorists well know the challenges of driving on the ramps and how it can be difficult to merge into traffic.