Manhole eats car: footage at eleven
Chicago Public Radio
is reporting that the
previously mentioned Kennedy roadwork has damaged more than 70 cars since it began two weeks ago. It seems that the contractor forgot to build asphalt ramps leading up to manhole covers which would have otherwise been flush with the road.
IDOT promises to resolve the situation very quickly.
Update - well, not exactly. According to
the Trib, IDOT blamed the issue on bad drivers at first, ignoring complaints. Only now, two weeks later, are they doing something about it.
"Somebody at IDOT and (IDOT Contractor) Plote screwed up," said Illinois Transportation Secretary Tim Martin, who took control of the situation Friday. "It's almost like [IDOT and Plote] were relaxing."
Labels: Kennedy
Mainline Dan Ryan construction is underway
That's right, as of Saturday night, ramp work is done for now and the main part of the project - rebuilding the roads with super-powerful, 30 year lifetime, 3' deep concrete - has begun!
The IDOT official Dan Ryan construction webpage apparently calls this the
Fiesta del Sol.
Labels: Construction, Dan Ryan
Tracing gasoline from Elgin to Nigeria
The Tribune (I know, two Trib links in one day) has an
incredibly interesting series of articles detailing the origin of the gasoline in one South Elgin pumping station to the oil wells in Nigeria, and all the steps in between. It highlights many of the interesting and troubling issues facing us commuters today - the rising costs of gas, the decentralization of communities, the disparity between rich and poor. A very interesting and enlightening read.
Labels: Politics
Tollway Board not consulted about Blago's free campaign signs
The fabulous big blue signs that have gone up on the tollway recently, reminding everyone who the
bestest governor in the world is, cost the tollway nearly $15,000 a piece bringing the cost of the 32 spread out around the region to $480,000. All to remind us that the Open Road Tolling system was brought to us solely by the efforts of Govenor Blagojevich.
The Tollway board, despite not being consulted about it, frankly doesn't care! "I am proud to have the governor's name on those signs," says board chairman John Mitola.
See the rest of the story at the
Chicago Tribune, 28 July.
Labels: Politics
Breaking News - Rockford area Open Road Tolling complete...?
I received a breaking-news email this morning:
Rockford-area travelers: relief has arrived! Open Road Tolling lanes are now complete at the Belvidere and Marengo Tolls on the Northwest Tollway (I-90.) There are two ORT lanes available in each direction, so now you can enjoy non-stop tolling on both legs of your trip. The Tollway thanks you for your patience during construction--the arrival of ORT should improve your drive and reduce delays on summer weekends.
Sounds fantastic. I am a big fan of the ORT system, but I have to admit, the way they've rolled them out has been sort of dubious. Take the westbound Kennedy for example; they finished two ORT lanes, made a huge announcement about it, but failed to mention that they reduced outbound traffic from three lanes to two just a mile before the toll plaza. So the time to get through the new ORT lanes actually
increased as traffic needs to adjust from the 3-2 switch.
ORT is great, and will be a fantastic addition when it's all complete. But honestly - don't trumpet how it's going to save us so much time until there are no roadblocks slowing it down! IDOT seems to even acknowledge this fact in this latest email announcement:
With multiple improvement projects still under way, you may experience some delays. Please stay alert in construction zones and give yourself a little more time to reach your destination. The best ways to reduce delays are to travel with I-PASS and avoid peak travel periods. Translation: the ORT plaza is finished, but you're still going to be stuck in traffic if you're trying to get to work by 9, or home by 6.
Labels: NW Tollway
Kennedy Construction update
Digging deeper into the IDOT website brings up
THIS PAGE, which covers the current construction projects in Northern Cook County.
Excerpted:
I 90/ Kennedy exp
variable width milling, bituminous concrete surface chicago
$15.9 (million)
IMPACT ON TRAVEL: 62746 night time job 830pm to 500am 5.77 miles of 2 @ 36 ft and variable widht milling, bituminous concrete surface, cleaning of drainage structures and pavement markings on I-90/ Kennedy Exp. from East River Rd to Edens Exp. in Chicago$15.9 million to repave with
bituminous concrete, which offers, "Numerous technical advantages, especially regarding adherence... and a reduction in water spray at the rear of the vehicles"
Sounds fantastic! It always is terrible to be stuck behind a SUV that seems to double the amount of water on your windshield.
Labels: Construction, Kennedy
Who tore up the Kennedy??
About a week ago, some raging construction workers decided it would be great fun to use their powerful equipment to remove about 2" of pavement on the Kennedy Expressway and replace it with Ruffles-style ridges.
No information about the project that I can find on the IDOT site, but one can imagine that a re-surfacing is on the way? As if we didn't have enough traffic problems with the toll plaza work!
Labels: Construction, Kennedy
The irrestible lure of the Allstate Arena
Regular commuters on the NW Tollway will undoubtedly have noticed this phenomenon - traffic is grinding to a halt up until the Allstate Arena, yet as soon as the megatron monitor is out of site, it starts moving at the (respectable for the tollway) 45-60 mph!
Chicagoland commuters - we apparently love watching TV so much, that we'll slam on the brakes on the highway just to watch an Allstate Insurance advertisement.
Labels: NW Tollway
Welcome to the Reverse Commuter
The Chicagoland area is home to
a huge number of highways, and growing numbers of residents are using them every day to get to and from work. I drive them every single day - my route is the Northwest Tollway and the Kennedy, each direction - Westbound in the morning, Eastbound in the evening.
This blog is to document the happenings of the roads. I need feedback from all areas! Please tell me what is going on - I try, just like everyone else, to spend as little time as possible on the highway.
