BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
A two-year project to rehabilitate 18 Chicago Skyway overpasses and the Marquette viaduct will begin with a modest kick-off in less than two weeks.
The start of the Skyway project comes right on the heels of the start of the $600 million Dan Ryan Expressway reconstruction, which started Friday. There have been fears the tandem projects could choke the flow of goods and people between Northwest Indiana and Chicago.
The Skyway project will begin April 17 with construction at the center of the toll booth plaza, as three lanes are converted into "reversible" lanes to handle rush hour traffic.
Then, starting May 15, traffic on the Marquette Road viaduct will begin and traffic will be restricted to two lanes in the rush hour direction and one lane going the opposite way. Work then will begin on rehabilitating the deteriorating structure.
The Marquette viaduct comes just south of the Dan Ryan ramp, which is already reduced to one lane as it enters and exits the Skyway.
Skyway operator, Skyway Concession Co. LLC, had planned to begin some of the work in March, but delays in soliciting bids had slightly held up its start, according to company spokeswoman Avis LaVelle.
Skyway Concession will not release how much it is paying for the work. But it said the contracts have been awarded and construction is ready to begin.
The last major rehabilitation of the Skyway was undertaken by the City of Chicago from 2001 to 2004.
Shortly after its completion, the Macquarie-Cintra consortium, the parent company of Skyway Concession Co., took over the Skyway. The consortium paid the City of Chicago $1.83 million for the right to collect tolls on the 7.8-mile roadway until 2104.
The current project is required by Skyway Concession's contract with the city and is part of the roadway's long-term capital plan, LaVelle said.
Northwest Indiana officials expressed surprise late last year when the project was announced. They asked the company to delay the Skyway work, but their plea was rejected by Skyway Concession CEO Fernando Redondo, who said there wouldn't be any advantage in delaying the needed work.
Skyway Concession is advising motorists they can exit the roadway at Stony Island Avenue to avoid construction at the Marquette viaduct.
The Skyway and the Dan Ryan are the main commuter and trucking routes into Chicago. The Dan Ryan carries as many as 300,000 vehicles per day, according to IDOT. The Skyway carried 17.4 million motorists in 2003, according to City of Chicago figures.
IDOT has specified the Skyway as a Dan Ryan alternate route, along with Stony Island Avenue and Ashland Avenue. On Monday, the first work-day of Dan Ryan reconstruction, the Skyway saw no appreciable increase in traffic, according to LaVelle.