Commuters on the inbound Edens Expressway faced significant delays Tuesday morning due to emergency road repairs following a pavement buckle. According to NBC 5, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) crews were on site at Skokie Boulevard addressing a "pavement expansion joint issue." Initially reported as a large pothole around 5 a.m., the situation was found to be a more serious "pavement default."
The incident, causing a backup as far back as Dundee Road, resulted in the closure of two lanes hitting the peak of rush hour traffic. As per Kye Martin, NBC 5's traffic reporter, by 6:05 a.m., the drive times from the north suburbs into Chicago had soared to 59 minutes, with the numbers on the rise. Martin expressed hope that IDOT's blockades would prevent further tire damage to unsuspecting motorists caught unaware by the defect.
However, the damage was not preempted for some, as the buckle had already claimed its toll on commuters' vehicles. ABC 7 Chicago reported that approximately four to five vehicles sustained flat tires due to the buckle. IDOT blocked the center lane north of Skokie Boulevard to stem the flow of traffic over the problematic spot, after multiple cars were afflicted by the road's sudden failure.
"IDOT has blocked it off," reiterated Kye Martin, and with flat tires reported by the Illinois State Police, their advice was as timely as it was necessary. The response from emergency crews and state officials attempts to mitigate the despair of delayed engagements and the unexpected expense, both the measurements of another morning in the grind of Chicagoland traffic.
