Chicago drivers who have been crawling through downtown detours are finally getting a bit of mercy. The Illinois Department of Transportation says the Ohio and Ontario Street feeder ramps are set to be back in business for the Friday morning commute, a key relief valve after roughly a year and a half of repairs. The long project has pushed traffic onto surface streets and the Kennedy Expressway, fueling daily jams in and out of the Loop. Drivers should still expect some short overnight work and final striping before traffic patterns fully settle back into place.
Ramps set to reopen Friday morning
All lanes on the Ohio and Ontario feeder ramps are scheduled to be open in time for the Friday morning rush, according to a state release reported by NBC Chicago. The outlet notes IDOT expects Ohio Street to be fully open by 5 a.m. Friday, with crews working overnight this week to pull barricades and put down the final pavement markings.
What the repairs covered
According to an Illinois Department of Transportation project release, the roughly $15.4 million job included replacing expansion joints, repairing structural steel and bridge decks, and installing a new deck overlay and resurfacing designed to extend the life of the structures. To make that happen, crews cycled through intermittent lane reductions and overnight closures on the feeder ramps between the Kennedy Expressway and Orleans Street as they staged the larger repairs.
What comes next for commuters
The freshly reopened ramps do not mean the construction story is completely over. IDOT has cautioned that concrete pavement patching will continue later this summer and will require full closures over three weekends, alternating between Ohio and Ontario streets, with specific dates and detours to be announced in advance, NBC Chicago reports. Local traffic this week has already seen an overnight Ohio Street closure from 11 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday and an Ontario Street overnight closure beginning at 11 p.m. Thursday so crews could finish pavement markings and remove barricades, according to WGN-TV.
Even with the ramps back open, motorists should brace for some lingering slowdowns as drivers adjust and traffic patterns rebalance. For the latest on schedules and detours tied to the Kennedy Expressway work, IDOT directs travelers to its IDOT project page. Real-time updates and planned weekend closures are also listed as they are announced on the statewide Getting Around Illinois portal.
