BY TERRIE HENDERSON, Times of Northwest Indiana
thenderson@nwitimes.com
Commuters who work in Chicago and live in Northwest Indiana or suburban Cook County must plan for the upcoming Dan Ryan Expressway road construction project, which is scheduled to begin late Friday night.
About 52,138 people commute from Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties to jobs in the greater Chicago area, according to the U.S. Census. That's 15.7 percent of all Northwest Indiana workers.
The Dan Ryan will be reduced to three inbound and three outbound lanes in the initial phase of the project, from 13th Street to the Interstate 57 interchange. Express lanes will be closed from 31st Street to 71st Street.
The project will begin after rush hour traffic late Friday night. The first rush hour affected will be on Monday, April 3.
Some commuters say they must consider public transportation to combat the road construction project that will cut Illinois' busiest expressway, Interstate 90/94, to 50 percent capacity. Others toy with such options as working from home or switching jobs.
'It's not country driving'
Whiting resident Bob Herakovich said the upcoming Dan Ryan road construction project may prompt him to retire.
Herakovich has concerns with the hour and a half commute to Roselle near Schaumburg, where he works as a postal carrier. Herakovich said while he has considered transferring to a closer job in the same line of work, a move would cause him to lose seniority.
"I couldn't go to the bottom of the barrel again," Herakovich said. "I'm currently searching the want ads for other employment."
Herakovich said the commute always changes during his drive -- and construction will only worsen this situation.
"An accident on the other side of the freeway will slow people down - any little thing," Herakovich said. "It's not country driving. It's fast and dangerous. I just don't think I can take it."
Herakovich said IDOT's plan will cause commuters to dedicate more time to travel and may also prove costly for the city's tourism market.
"I think Chicago is going to lose a significant amount of money because people simply do not want to drive into the city," Herakovich said.
'I can connect at home'
Ted Markiewicz, of Crown Point, has been commuting to Chicago for 17 years.
Markiewicz, a consultant for AT&T, said he drives an hour every day to work because it is the most convenient way into the city. He said if he took a train, it would add at least a half hour to his commute.
"I take Burr north into Griffith, then I get on Cline," Markiewicz said, adding that he takes the Skyway and gets off on the Dan Ryan. Markiewicz said after the Dan Ryan turns into the Kennedy, he exits at Lake Street to get to a parking garage.
Markiewicz anticipates it will be awhile before he can find the best route to work.
"I am going to try the Ryan to see how it is," Markiewicz said. "My first alternative is going to be trying Lake Shore Drive. Ultimately, I might have to start taking the train."
Markiewicz said one option may be to work from home more often.
"I can connect from home," Markiewicz said. "I am sure a lot more folks will be doing that."
'I get out of dodge'
Before Lansing resident Norm Klemp can drive to Chicago from Lansing, he drives to Munster to pick up his girlfriend, Michaelene Hale.
Klemp works for Metra. Hale is as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The couple drives to the Metra train station stop at 115th and Kensington. Hale sometimes works later than Klemp, so she takes the South Shore home to the Hammond station.
Klemp said he has a tendency to get frustrated in congested traffic, and plans to avoid the situation altogether.
"I don't sit in it and wait, I bail. I get out of dodge, I don't mess around," Klemp said. "It's not worth my bother to drive down there."
Klemp said the couple are afforded opportunities to talk to one another and socialize with others while commuting in the car and on the train.
"We don't get a lot of time together," Klemp said. "It's amazing the people you meet on the train. You meet train people -- they ask about you."
'I like living in Indiana'
Although it takes Portage resident Kathy Mash some time to get to work, she considers her job worth it.
She works at U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox in accounts receivable.
Mash drives from Portage to the South Shore train station in East Chicago. After riding the South Shore, Mash takes the Red Line train southbound from either Lake Street or Roosevelt Road to the stop at 35th Street.
"I've been doing this for 12 years," Mash said, adding that her daily commute has consisted of several different routes over the years. Still, she finds living outside of Chicago rewarding.
"I like living in Indiana," Mash said. "There is a little more space. It's a lot like the remote suburban place that I grew up. Living in the city is too expensive."
Mash said she is concerned that the road construction will effect the 2006 White Sox season, which opens April 2, by causing a hardship on those who attend the games.
"It's going to be bad on our fans," Mash said.
'Eventually love won out'
Every morning, Becky Hinton's husband David packs her lunch as she prepares for her morning commute.
By day, Hinton works in Chicago's West Loop area at a women's fashion design firm, Henry-Lee Fashions, as a pattern maker. At night she teaches pattern-making to fashion design students at the International Academy of Design Technology on State Street.
Hinton, a Dyer resident, said her job is rewarding, but getting there is half the battle. She said she drives two days a week and takes the South Shore the other three days.
To prepare for the upcoming Dan Ryan road construction project, she will take the next semester off from teaching. She said she will miss her students, but the break may be a blessing in disguise.
While living so far from work has caused some inconveniences, Hinton wouldn't have it any other way.
"I married into Northwest Indiana and I resisted it mightily, but eventually love won out," Hinton said. "I wouldn't trade it for the world."