How to Avoid the Stevenson and Lake Shore Drive Construction Getting to the Chicago Auto Show

Feb 13, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

Jen DeSalvo, WLS-AM Traffic & Transportation

(CHICAGO) Beginning in 2015, the I-55 (Stevenson) interchange at Lake Shore Drive has been undergoing a massive reconstruction which includes several ramps and bridges. Due to lane reductions, motorists have experienced increased travel times when accessing the Stevenson from Lake Shore Drive and vice versa.

With the Chicago Auto Show running from Feb. 11 through Feb. 20, the area will see additional congestion, however, it is recommended to use Lake Shore Drive southbound to the 31st Street exit to access McCormick Place from the south.

Parking is ample at McCormick Place in three parking lots. Lots A & C cost $23 and are indoors, while Lot B is open-air, costs $15 and is accessible from the 31st Street exit off Lake Shore Drive. Visitors after 6:00 p.m. are charged $10 for parking on the dates of the show only.

The Chicago Auto Show website states that, “there is extensive shuttle bus service from all area parking lots to and from McCormick Place, and Weekend and Presidents Day shuttle service from the Millennium Park Garage. Weekend shuttles stop in 10-15 minute intervals near Lower Randolph and at Gate 3 at McCormick Place.” Parking at the Millennium garages vary, however on Presidents Day weekend, there will be a 12-hour rate of $18.

Closures planned around Stevenson interchange with Lake Shore

Dec 21, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Several lane and ramp closures will be implemented Wednesday surrounding the Stevenson Expressway interchange with Lake Shore Drive.

Inbound I-55 will be reduced to a single lane from 9 a.m. to noon, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Traffic will be shifted to the left lane, and the King Drive exit ramp and the ramp from northbound I-55 to southbound Lake Shore will also be closed.

From noon to 3 p.m., inbound I-55 will remain reduced to a single lane, but traffic will be shifted to the right lane, IDOT said. The ramp from northbound I-55 to northbound Lake Shore will be closed, and a detour will direct drivers along southbound Lake Shore to 31st Street to access the northbound lanes.

The closures are necessary to implement a new traffic pattern as a part of a reconstruction project on the interchange, IDOT said. The new traffic pattern will have two separate lanes on the northbound Stevenson designated to accessing northbound and southbound Lake Shore Drive. Drivers will also use a newly constructed ramp from the northbound Stevenson to northbound Lake Shore.

Overnight lane closures on Lake Shore near Stevenson interchange

Nov 17, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Overnight lane closures are planned on Lake Shore Drive until Friday morning as crews work to rebuild the interchange between Lake Shore and the Stevenson Expressway.

Northbound Lake Shore will be completely closed at I-55 until 5 a.m. Thursday, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Northbound Lake Shore traffic will be redirected onto the outbound Stevenson to State Street, where drivers can get onto the inbound Stevenson to access northbound Lake Shore.

Starting at 9 p.m. Thursday, the left lane of southbound Lake Shore will be closed, followed by a second lane at 10 p.m., IDOT said. All southbound lanes will be closed from midnight until 5 a.m. Friday. Southbound traffic will be rerouted via the outbound Stevenson, State Street and the inbound Stevenson.

The right lane of northbound Lake Shore will also close at 9 p.m. Thursday, followed by a second lane at 10 p.m., according to IDOT. Northbound Lake Shore will be reduced to a single lane from midnight to 5 a.m. Friday.

The closure is necessary for demolition and the installation of new bridge beams, IDOT said.

Lane closures begin Saturday on Stevenson Expressway

Oct 21, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Lane closures on the Stevenson Expressway under Pulaski Road begin Saturday.

The temporary lane closures will take place between 7 and 11 a.m. on the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 55, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The closures are necessary in order to perform a bridge inspection on the structure that carries Pulaski Road over the Stevenson Expressway, IDOT said.

Weekend Closures on Lake Shore Drive and the Stevenson

Sep 22, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

By Jen DeSalvo, WLS-AM 890 Traffic

(CHICAGO) Weekend travelers on the south side of Lake Shore Drive will have to find an alternate route this entire weekend as roadwork and the Chicago Half Marathon will shut down the drive completely.

Beginning Friday, Sept. 23, overnight lane closures begin that will last into the following week. The Illinois Department of Transportation announced this week that a full closure of northbound and southbound Lake Shore Drive for the installation of new bridge beams.

The following is a list of closures due to the planned road construction:
Northbound Lake Shore Drive: Full Closure starting at 8 p.m. Friday lasting until 12 p.m. Saturday.

Northbound Lake Shore Drive to outbound Stevenson ramp: The ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 12 p.m. Saturday.

Inbound Stevenson to southbound Lake Shore Drive ramp: Closed Saturday from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Detours will be posted for all of this roadwork. For that information click here.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, the 20th Chicago Half Marathon will shut down Lake Shore Drive completely on the south side. This closure will impact traffic from 6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The race will actually run on the south side of Lake Shore Drive. The entire drive will be closed to traffic between Jackson Park (67th Street) north to 31st Street. Other streets around Jackson Park will be closed. The ramps to and from 31st Street will also be closed to traffic.

© WLS-AM 890 News & Traffic

Weekend A-Jenda: September 22nd – 25th

Sep 20, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

Click Here for Weekend Traffic Projects
Click Here for Weekend CTA Travel Alerts

The Chicago Half Marathon

Date: Sunday, September 25

Traffic Impact from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – The race runs on the south side of Lake Shore Drive. The entire drive will be closed to traffic between Jackson Park (67th Street) north to 31st Street. Other streets around Jackson Park will be closed.

Oktoberfest Chicago

Date: Friday, September 23 – Sunday, September 25
Time: Friday, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.- 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m – 7 p.m.
Location: 1429 W. Wellington Ave, Lincoln Park

16th annual Bavarian celebration in Lincoln Park welcomes fall with plenty of food, music, arts & crafts, and activities for children.

Craft beer tasting nights on Friday and Saturday with “KinderFest” family activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission is $5, and benefits St. Alphonsus Church. The event is free of cost on Sunday!

Ravinia District’s Harvest and Harmony Festival

Date: Friday, September 23 – Saturday, September 24
Time: Friday, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. & Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Location: Jens Jensen Park

Friday, September 23rd

4-5pm School of Rock
5-6:30pm FUTURE STUFF
7-9pm Ravinia Ramblers

Saturday, September 24th

11-11:45am Little Miss Ann from Old Town School
Noon-12:30pm Language Stars
1-2:30pm 341 Trio
3–4:30pm Louie Zagoras of Rollover
5-6:30pm The Remars
7-7:45pm Michael McDermott
8-9pm Sam Llanas, Formerly of the BoDeans

For more information and list of food vendors, click here!

EXPO Chicago

Date: Thursday, September 22 – Sunday, September 25
Time: Friday, September 23 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday, September 24 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Sunday, September 25 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Location: Navy Pier

From the website, EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, opens the fall art season each September at historic Navy Pier.

Bon Appétit presents Chicago Gourmet 2016

Date: Saturday, September 24 – Sunday, September 25
Location: Millenium Park

The Bon Appétit website says:

Now in its ninth year, Chicago Gourmet is excited to introduce our first-ever Host Chef – Rick Bayless of the acclaimed Frontera Restaurants. Additionally, a weekend-long theme – Food Is Art! – will showcase the culinary arts and explore its vibrant connections to art of many kinds. You’ll find fun and interactive art components throughout the event including Friday night’s popular Hamburger Hop and the exclusive Grand Cru tasting.

.38 Special

Date: Sunday, September 25
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Arcadia Theatre, St. Charles

After more than three decades together, 38 SPECIAL continue to bring their signature blast of Southern Rock to over 100 cities a year. And at each and every show, thousands of audience members are amazed by the explosive power of the band’s performance.

Their many Gold and Platinum album awards stand in testament to the endurance of a legendary powerhouse.

With sales in excess of 20 million, most associate the band with their arena-rock pop smashes, “Hold On Loosely,” “Rockin’ Into the Night,” “Caught Up in You,” “Fantasy Girl,” “If I’d Been the One,” “Back Where You Belong,” “Chain Lightnin’,” “Second Chance,” and more – Timeless hits that remain a staple at radio, immediately recognizable from the first opening chord, and paving the way to their present-day touring regimen.

Other Local Events

Traffic Restrictions & Road Projects

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced that starting Friday, Sept. 23, overnight lane closures will take place over several days, including a full closure of northbound and southbound Lake Shore Drive (U.S. 41), as part of the ongoing reconstruction of the interchange between Lake Shore Drive and the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55). The closures are required for the installation of new bridge beams.

Friday, Sept. 23 to Wednesday, Sept. 28:
Northbound Lake Shore Drive: Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, northbound Lake Shore Drive will be fully closed until 12 p.m. Saturday. A posted detour will direct northbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the 39th Street exit to State Street, north on State Street to enter the inbound Stevenson and re-enter northbound Lake Shore Drive. The 31st Street entrance ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive also will be closed.

Northbound Lake Shore Drive to outbound Stevenson ramp: The ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 12 p.m. Saturday. A posted detour will direct northbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the 39th Street exit to State Street, enter the inbound Stevenson and exit at Martin Luther King Drive to immediately enter the outbound Stevenson.

Inbound Stevenson to southbound Lake Shore Drive ramp: The ramp from the inbound Stevenson to southbound Lake Shore Drive will be closed Saturday from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. A posted detour will direct northbound Stevenson traffic to take the ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive, exit at 18th Street and enter southbound Lake Shore Drive.

Southbound Lake Shore Drive: Beginning at 10 p.m. Sunday, the left lane on southbound Lake Shore Drive will be closed, with a second lane closing at 11 p.m. At midnight, southbound Lake Shore Drive will be completely closed until 5 a.m. All lanes will be closed nightly until Wednesday, Sept. 28. A posted detour will direct southbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the southbound Stevenson ramp, exit at State Street and take the northbound Stevenson to re-enter southbound Lake Shore Drive.

CTA and Public Transit Weekend Alerts

Trains Rerouted Downtown – Lake and Wabash Closed; Pink Line Rerouted to Connect to Racine Blue Line Station

Orange and Brown Lines: Trains will operate as one route, between Kimball and Midway, via Wells and Van Buren on the Loop elevated.

Green Line: Trains will operate between Harlem and 63rd via Wells and Van Buren on the Loop elevated.

Pink Line: Trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and Polk, then to Racine Blue Line for connecting Blue Line train service to/from downtown.

• For service to downtown from Pink Line stations between 54th/Cermak and Polk, take a Pink Line train toward the Loop and stay on board until the train reaches Racine on the Blue Line, where you can transfer to continuing Blue Line service into downtown.

• For service from downtown to Pink Line stations between Polk and 54th/Cermak, take a Blue Line train toward Forest Park to Racine and transfer to a Pink Line train toward 54th/Cermak.

• For service to/from Ashland, Morgan or Clinton stations, use Blue Line service between Racine and Jackson, and Green Line service.

Customers may transfer between the Loop elevated, and Blue and Red line subways at Harold Washington Library (Loop elevated) and Jackson (Blue and Red lines) stations.

Planned toll lanes on Stevenson get federal approval

Aug 11, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

By Adam Chappelle, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) The concept of paid toll lanes on the Stevenson Expressway might be happening, after all. That project received federal environmental approval this month.

The plan would be to add a tolled express lane in the current median between the Veterans Tollway (I-355) and the Dan Ryan Expressway. More than 170,000 cars and trucks pass through that stretch of road each day, according to IDOT. That makes it one of the busiest and most important passenger and freight corridors in Illinois.

IDOT hopes to recruit private developers to help curb the $425 million cost of the project. Those private partners would have a say in the design, build, operations, and management of the toll lanes.

Construction could start as early as 2017, and the lanes could be open to traffic by 2019.

Paying for the Need for Speed

Dec 14, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

There’s a new idea to help move traffic faster on the expressways.

How would feel about paying a toll to use a faster lane on a freeway like the Stevenson or Eisenhower?

At the City Club, Illinois Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom was talking up the idea.

“From everything we can hear people are very supportive of these. If you wanted to come down here like I did today on the Eisenhower and you didn’t want to be late it would have been a very good investment for me to have a managed lane and also made me a little bit less worried about getting here in a timely fashion,” said Schillerstrom. “So, managed lanes are on the very, you know, top of our list and you know hopefully, we can have some for you to try, on the Stevenson, in the near future.”

But there are bureaucratic roadblocks to clear, like the feds not wanting to let states start charging for the freeways they mostly paid for.

@ 2015 WLS News

UPDATE: Police: Man killed, 2 injured in Stevenson Expressway crash

Apr 29, 2015 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) A man was killed and two others were injured Wednesday morning in a three-vehicle crash on the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) in the South Side Bridgeport neighborhood, authorities said.

Two SUVs and a car collided about 5:45 a.m. in the inbound lanes of I-55 near Throop Street, according to Illinois State Police.

A man, whose exact age was not known, was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police and Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva. The Cook County medical examiners’ office could not immediately confirm the fatality.

Another person injured in the crash was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital, Roccasalva said. A third person was taken in fair-to-serious condition to Mercy Hospital.

Three northbound lanes of the expressway were closed to traffic, but were reopened by 8:20 a.m., according to police.

Roadwork closes I-55 ramp in SW suburbs for two weekends

Apr 23, 2015 | WLSAM Staff

(CHANNAHON) Lanes on an Interstate 55 ramp in the southwest suburbs will be closed the next two weekends for road repairs.

Construction workers will be patching roadways, among other repairs, from Friday to Monday, April 27, then again from Friday, May 1 to Monday, May 4, the Illinois Department of Transportation said in a statement.

The work will shut down lanes on the southbound I-55 ramp leading to Arsenal Road, IDOT said. On both weekends, the closures will start at 9 p.m. Friday and last until 5 a.m. Monday.

Drivers should expect delays and allow extra time for travel, IDOT warned.

Manteno Oktoberfest	09/22/2016	Manteno, IL
Elmwood Park Fall fest	09/23/2016	Elmwood Park, IL
Huntley Fall Fest	09/23/2016	Huntley, IL
Long Grove Apple Festival	09/23/2016	Long Grove, IL
Quad Cities Balloon Festival	09/23/2016	East Moline, IL
Hyde Park Jazz Festival	09/24/2016	Chicago, IL
Edgewater Arts Festival	09/24/2016	Chicago, IL
OKTOBERFEST, Vernon Hills	09/24/2016	Vernon Hills, IL
Oktoberfest, Oak Brook	09/24/2016	Oak Brook, IL
Oktoberfest Bethany	09/24/2016	Naperville, IL
Oktoberfest Family Festival	09/24/2016	La Grange Park, IL

Tag Archives: Stevenson