Kennedy Expressway to have ramp closures for Monroe Street bridge construction

Extended ramp closures are scheduled to begin Sunday to and from the Kennedy Expressway for ongoing Monroe Street bridge construction.

The bridge over the expressway will be under construction as part of the overall Jane Byrne Interchange reconstruction project, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Beginning 10 p.m. Sunday, the Madison entrance ramp to the inbound Kennedy Expressway (southbound I-90/94) will be fully closed until Aug. 9, IDOT said. A detour will direct westbound Madison traffic north on Jefferson and west on Randolph to access the expressway. Eastbound Madison traffic should go north on Halsted and east on Lake to access the inbound Kennedy.

Beginning 10 p.m. Monday, the Monroe exit ramp from the inbound Kennedy (northbound I-90/94) will be closed until Friday, IDOT said. A detour will direct traffic to exit the expressway via Adams going west then north on Halsted to meet back at Monroe.

Two more closures will occur starting 10 p.m. Friday, IDOT said. The Adams entrance ramp to the outbound Kennedy will be closed until July 16, with a detour directing westbound Adams traffic to go north on Jefferson and west on Madison to access the outbound Kennedy.

The second closure will be the Adams exit ramp from the inbound Kennedy, which will remain closed until August, IDOT said. A detour will direct traffic to exit at Monroe to travel west then south on Halsted to meet back at Adams.

The Monroe Street bridge is one of several expressway bridge improvement projects included in the Jane Byrne Interchange reconstruction, IDOT said. The Halsted Street, Taylor Street, Morgan Street, Harrison Street and Peoria Street bridges are all completed and open to traffic.