The Official Dan Ryan Construction Thread

[Chisox73]

DAN RYAN CONSTRUCTION;DAY 1

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2694/00000541ly.jpg

The long awaited Dan Ryan road construction project is finally here.The 2-year project will screw up traffic to and from US Cellular Field.

The express lanes in both directions are now shut down,reducing traffic to 3 lanes in each direction.

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3047/00000536lw.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=00000536lw.jpg)
This image is looking southbound with US Cellular Field to the right.

If heading to The Cell this season,make sure you allow plenty of extra time to get there.

Being on there this evening coming back from Chicago was surprisingly smooth.But the big test will come Monday morning.

I'll keep you all posted here on the construction as it progresses,if in fact it does.

[Chisox73]

The traffic on the outbound lanes wasn't so bad coming and going yesterday.The only thing was to get used to the new lane configurations,and no shoulders.

But going outbound,watch out when you get to the Skyway exit,it goes down to 2 lanes for about 1/4 mile.If you remain in the left lane at the Skyway,you're screwed,unless you're going to the boats in Indiana.

It took me roughly 15 minutes to get from the Stevenson to 95th at about 50 mph.

The real fun on the Ryan starts Monday morning.:no:

[Chisox73]

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/6365/10000118zu.jpg
This image was taken from US Cellular Field today. Many people are heeding the advice and staying off the Ryan.But the relatively quick travel times so far could ultimately lead to more traffic on the Ryan.

It wasn't so bad going home from the ballpark,just your typical 5 o'clock rush hour delays.

[Chisox73]

Dan Ryan getting thicker as well as wider
May 29, 2006
BY MONIFA THOMAS Transportation Reporter Advertisement
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-danryan29.html#

If you've been using the Dan Ryan Expy. lately, you've probably passed by those closed express lanes enough times to wonder what's being done over there.

The short answer is, in addition to making the city's busiest expressway wider, the state's two-year reconstruction project also involves transforming the Dan Ryan into a thicker, more durable roadway.

When it was built in the early 1960s, the Dan Ryan was only designed to last 20 years.

The new design that work crews are laying out now features heftier layers of concrete, asphalt and gravel intended to give the refurbished expressway a life-span up to twice as long, state transportation officials say.

Another feature that should slow wear and tear is a thin liner below the gravel subbase that prevents moisture from seeping in and causing cracks.

If everything works like it's supposed to, the Dan Ryan won't need another makeover for at least 30 to 40 years.

mjthomas@suntimes.com

[Chisox73]

http://images.suntimes.com/popups/NWS/images/danryan0529.gif

[Chisox73]

MAY,2006 CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS

Here are the latest pics that I took yesterday from the 31st street overpass.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/2186/10001804sw.jpg
This is looking southbound from 31st street.Note the new pavement.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9908/10001815np.jpg
Here's a view looking northbound towards downtown.

[Chisox73]

Construction strike affects projects in NW Indiana, Chicago
Laborers, contractors fail to reach contract agreement
By The Times and The Associated Press
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, June 1, 2006 12:24 PM CDT.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2006/06/01/updates/top_stories/f469c47280982834862571800054c4a8.txt

A construction strike affecting projects in 11 counties -- including the overhaul of the Dan Ryan Expressway, construction on Ind. 49 and various other projects in Northwest Indiana -- began after midnight this morning, union officials said.

Negotiations between the laborers' union and negotiators for area contractors began May 1 but broke off late Tuesday, according to a statement Wednesday from the Construction and General Laborers' District Council of Chicago Vicinity.

The remaining issues between the construction workers and the Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association included pension fund guarantees, subcontracting protections and other "economic issues," according to the statement.

The contractors offered to increase wages 5.3 percent over each of the next two years and leave current pension and welfare benefits intact, MARBA said in a release. The workers' current base wage rate is $30.15 an hour.

The strike appears to have affected projects in Lake and Porter counties in Indiana, plus Boone, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois.

In Northwest Indiana, Local 142 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is striking sites under construction by companies employing its construction trucking workers and drivers.

Angie Fegaras, spokesman for Indiana Department of Transportation's LaPorte District, said there are several INDOT projects affected, including Ind. 49 in Porter County.

Construction work on Ind. 49 came to a stop earlier today, as did construction along the Lincolnway improvement project in downtown Valparaiso.

Lake County Highway Department Superintendent Marc Malczewski said today the strike shut down a road project south of Gary and could put many others throughout the county in jeopardy if it becomes protracted.

Malczewski said laborers are refusing to work in crews hired to remove a potholed stretch of asphalt on Whitcomb Street between 41st and 45th avenues in unincorporated Calumet Township in preparation for its resurfacing.

Malczewski said if the strikes extends many more days, it will delay work on 153rd Avenue south of Cedar Lake.

"We will continue to prepare for road projects, but if it lasts over a week, the slowdown could be dramatic," he said, adding that there are about 20 other road projects scheduled this season.

The strike is affecting laborers for private contractors, said Malczewski, who emphasized the unionized county highway workers are not on strike.

MARBA represents more than 200 construction companies, or about 10 percent of the construction market, the union said.

The strike isn't affecting the reconstruction of the Chicago Skyway, according to a spokesman for the project.

"The strike will not delay the Skyway construction's progress," said Tammy Fagan, spokesman for the firm representing the Skyway. "While there are some workers on strike, there are others still working and so it will not impede progress of the project."

For more on the strike, see Friday's editions of The Times.