GARY — Construction on the Chicago Skyway will begin Feb. 15, despite concerns by Northwest Indiana transportation authorities who fear the projects are going to make the commute to Chicago even more disastrous.
Representatives from the Skyway’s owner, Skyway Concession Co. LLC, and the Illinois Department of Transportation on Thursday met with representatives of Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Indiana Department of Transportation, Gary/Chicago International Airport and Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District at the airport to talk about the upcoming and ongoing construction projects on Illinois’ major roadways.
Construction will start on the Skyway’s eastbound lanes from the Calumet River Bridge to Marquette Road, said Skyway Concession CEO Fernando Redondo, narrowing four miles of that stretch to two lanes of traffic in each direction.
A second portion of the work between Marquette Road and State Street will be divided into the “two-plus-one” configuration, meaning two lanes in one direction will be open during rush hour while the opposite direction will have one lane open.
All ramps, meanwhile, will be open except for the times when they’re being paved.
While the construction on the Skyway is not expected to be major, it will coincide with the ongoing construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway, which enters its next phase March 1, 2006. In that phase, all express lanes will be closed and the road will be cut to 50 percent of its current capacity, according to Heather Tarczan, with IDOT’s office of external affairs.
When Steve Strains of NIRPC asked Redondo if there would be any harm in delaying the Skyway projects for two years, Redondo said there really was no point in delaying it.
“The Skyway is working at one-third of its capacity right now, so we don’t see how waiting two years would be beneficial,” Redondo said.
Instead, transportation agencies involved will embark on a huge public campaign instructing commuters to use alternative routes, including Stony Island Avenue, which can be accessed from both the Bishop Ford Highway and The Skyway.
“I tell everyone I talk to to use Stony Island,” Redondo said. “We’re planning on re-syncing the lights to make sure traffic flows smoothly, so we hope that’ll help people stay off the Dan Ryan.”
Asking INDOT to be a part of the talks was a good idea, NIRPC Executive Director John Swanson said.
“This was really good information,” he said. “It’s good to have the alternates identified, because (the construction) is going to be really bad.”
Swanson also announced a partnership between NIRPC and its Illinois counterpart, the Chicago Area Transportation Study called Share the Drive, where Indiana commuters can find other commuters with whom to carpool.