By: Ashmar Mandou

On Wednesday, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) joined local officials and community leaders to celebrate the completion of the multi-year, multi-million dollar Jane Byrne Interchange project. The project aimed to modernize the infrastructure that connects downtown Chicago to the entire Midwest.

“Today, I’m proud to announce the reconstruction of the Jane Byrne Interchange is finally completed,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “For almost a decade, Illinois’ first-rate workforce worked day in and day out to entirely reconstruct this massive project. And in the last few years, IDOT accelerated and streamlined the construction process to get this done — and the great men and women of Illinois’ construction industry persevered. They are the ones who made this happen. I know I speak for all of Illinois when I say that we couldn’t be more grateful for the labor and dedication of every single worker on this project.” The Jane Byrne connects travelers from the Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways (Interstate 90/94) and the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290) with the principal route in and out of Chicago in Ida B. Wells Drive.

“The Jane Byrne Interchange connects drivers with the neighborhoods, local businesses and attractions that make Chicago one of the best cities in the world,” said Assistant Majority Leader Elizabeth Hernandez, (D-Cicero). “I am eager to see how the completion of this years long project improves roadway safety for all types of travelers, and I am grateful to my colleagues and Gov. Pritzker for their leadership.” Improvements and benefits include:

• A total of 19 bridges and 21 ramps reconstructed or rehabilitated.

• A new northbound collector-distributor road on the Dan Ryan and Kennedy expressways to reduce conflict points as well as frequent weaving and merging by relocating the left-hand entrance ramps at Jackson and Adams streets and separating the exits ramps to Washington Boulevard, Lake, Madison, and Randolph streets from mainline traffic.

• An additional lane to the inbound Eisenhower ramp to the outbound Kennedy and to the inbound Dan Ryan flyover ramp to the outbound Eisenhower.

According to IDOT, finished product is predicted to result in a 50 percent reduction in vehicle delays, saving motorists an annual 5 million hours previously spent sitting in traffic and $185 million in productivity.