Major road work ahead for Jane Addams

Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) commuters might want to invest in some relaxation CDs with a significant construction season just around the corner.

The Illinois State Toll Highway is embarking on an extensive project to widen and rebuild 62 miles of the Jane Addams between Rockford and O'Hare International Airport.

The agency has concentrated on the Rockford to Elgin section so far but this year includes some significant work on the eastern end.

On the Elgin to O'Hare stretch, the tollway will be rebuilding bridges at Lee Street, Meacham Road, Roselle Road, Barrington Road, Illinois Route 25 and the Fox River this year in anticipation of future widening.

Drivers might already have seen utility work, which involves "removing the fiber optic network from underground and stringing it on poles above ground for the next two years," spokeswoman Jan Kemp said in an email. "Once roadway rebuilding and widening is completed, the fiber optic network will be reburied underground."

In addition, all three lanes on the westbound Jane Addams between the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and the Kennedy Expressway will be rebuilt starting this year.

Meanwhile, lane shifts start Monday on the eastbound I-90 between Rockford and Elgin.

Crews will be improving the medians, which involves installing barriers and building new shoulders, now through late spring.

As a result, eastbound traffic between Rockford and Elgin will be gradually shifted to the right during the next two weeks. All entrances and exits will stay open.

The work is a preliminary step before adding a third lane to westbound I-90 between I-39 in Rockford and Randall Road in Elgin. The eastbound lanes of that section were widened in 2013.

Later this spring, all traffic will move to the eastbound lanes so work on the westbound side can proceed.