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Four weekends you'll want to avoid driving on expressways

Worst traffic ever? Veteran Chicago drivers might dispute that but there's no argument that four weekends worth of expressway lane and ramp closures beginning Wednesday are bad news for suburban residents coming to and leaving Chicago.

The pain will be shared among Kennedy and Eisenhower Expressway motorists as IDOT installs steel beams on a flyover bridge that's crucial to the Jane Byrne (Circle) Interchange reconstruction.

On Wednesday evening, the Illinois Department of Transportation will close the inbound Kennedy ramp to eastbound Congress until the morning of Aug. 31.

IDOT spaced out the beam work in an attempt to avoid special events and Bears home games, planners said.

Of particular notice for drivers heading home Saturday nights are lane closures on the Kennedy in August.

Here are more details of what to expect this month and in the fall. Detours will be posted.

Aug. 21 to 23 and 28 to 30:

• Eastbound Congress Parkway at the Byrne Interchange will close at 10 p.m. Fridays and reopen by 5 a.m. Mondays. Vehicles can still access ramps to the Dan Ryan and Kennedy expressways.

• The westbound Eisenhower at the Byrne Interchange will close at 5 a.m. Saturdays and reopen by 5 a.m. Mondays. Vehicles can still access ramps to the Dan Ryan and Kennedy expressways.

• The Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways will be down to one lane in both directions between Ohio Street and 18th Street from 8 p.m. Saturdays until 10 a.m. Sundays. All lanes will close for 15-minute intervals from 10 p.m. Saturdays until 7 a.m. Sundays.

Sept. 25 to 27 and Oct. 16 to 18:

• The westbound Eisenhower at the Byrne Interchange will close at 10 p.m. both Fridays and reopen by 5 a.m. Mondays. Vehicles can still access ramps to the Dan Ryan and Kennedy expressways.

• The eastbound Kennedy between the Ohio Feeder and the Eisenhower will shrink to one lane in both directions as of 8 p.m. Saturdays and return to normal by 8 a.m. Sundays. All lanes will be closed for 15-minute intervals between 10 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. Sundays.

To find out more, go to http://www.circleinterchange.org/.

  Driving to downtown Chicago this month? Expect significant traffic on the Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways getting to and from the city. Marni Pyke/mpyke@dailyherald.com
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