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Posted: Wednesday, 14 October 2009 3:25PM
IDOT: Avoid Downtown expressways for 24 hours
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CHICAGO (CBS/STNG) ― Commuters are being urged to avoid all Downtown expressways for the next 24 hours after a pavement problem on the northbound Kennedy Expy. closed two lanes Wednesday afternoon.
The Illinois Dept. of Transportation is closing all ramps from the eastbound Eisenhower (I-290) and westbound Congress Parkway onto the westbound Kennedy (I-90/94), according to an IDOT spokeswoman.
The northbound Kennedy will be reduced to one lane, IDOT's Marisa Kollias said. The northbound Taylor Street ramp will also be closed.
She called it a pavement “blow up” and said it is major problem expected to require a longterm repair. IDOT is working on a detour and signage.
The pavement problem was originally affecting the two right lanes from Adams to the Circle Interchange, and traffic was backing up as far as the inbound Dan Ryan Expy. at 59th Street, according to Illinois State Police.
No accidents have been reported as a result of the bad pavement or the backup, an ISP Chicago District trooper said.
The cause of the problem remained unclear as of 2 p.m., Kollias said, but IDOT is investigating. Two lanes on the outbound Kennedy Expressway just past the Circle interchange could be closed for quite some time, after the pavement buckled.
The two right lanes on the outbound Kennedy are both blocked due to a "pavement blowup," according to Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marisa Kollias. It was not immediately learned what caused the damage to the pavement.
A construction company was pumping concrete into an underground freight tunnel when "pressure made the road erupt," the Chicago Tribune reported, citing information from a dispatcher from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The mishap happened within the last few hours, the dispatcher said at 11:50 a.m.
Kollias said the pavement damage is "major, and it is estimated that this condition will be long term."
Detours and signage will be posted, Kollias said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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