Resurfacing work requiring more lane reductions on a downtown stretch of North Lake Shore Drive will resume Sunday night and will be followed by full lane closures during the week, city transportation officials said Friday. The nighttime and daytime lane closings will continue for about the next two weeks.
The next phase of the 1 1/2-mile repaving project will close two lanes of southbound Lake Shore Drive between Grand and North avenues, excluding the S-curve at Oak Street, from 8:15 p.m. Sunday until 5:45 a.m. Monday, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation. The work was not completed this week because of bad weather Thursday night into Friday, CDOT said.
Full overnight closures in one direction at a time that will detour traffic off the drive to accommodate resurfacing of the Oak Street S-curve are then scheduled Monday through Thursday, weather permitting, officials said. The detours will be in effect Monday and Tuesday in the northbound direction and Wednesday and Thursday southbound, also between 8:15 p.m. and 5:45 a.m.
CDOT advises motorists to avoid Lake Shore Drive during the nighttime work.
The $2.5 million repaving project, which started Oct. 19, is scheduled for completion before Thanksgiving, CDOT said. The stretch of the drive between North and Grand handles a daily average of 140,000 vehicles in both directions, the agency said. The traffic volume is typically 12,000 to 13,500 vehicles in each direction during overnight hours.
During the overnight closures Monday and Tuesday, northbound traffic will be detoured off Lake Shore Drive at Randolph Street, westbound to Michigan Avenue and northbound onto Lake Shore Drive at Oak. Ramps from Randolph, Wacker Drive and Grand to northbound Lake Shore Drive will be closed. Local access will be maintained to the Grand ramp and Navy Pier, CDOT said. Southbound Lake Shore Drive will remain open on those two nights.
Southbound Lake Shore Drive traffic will be detoured off at Michigan Avenue on Wednesday and Thursday nights, CDOT said. Vehicles will be directed south on Michigan to Randolph and east on Randolph back to southbound Lake Shore Drive. Chicago Avenue access to and from Lake Shore Drive will be maintained. The exit at Chestnut Street will be closed. Northbound Lake Shore Drive will remain open on those nights.
Over the next several weeks, periodic single-lane closures will occur between North and Grand between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to make room for work on curbs, shoulders and ramps, officials said.
CDOT said the resurfacing project is being conducted this late in the construction season to prevent a proliferation of potholes this winter.
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