Kennedy Expressway (I-90) named nations worst bottleneck

[I-39]

http://abc7chicago.com/traffic/study-kennedy-expy-is-nations-worst-traffic-bottleneck/1096530/


This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I just don't see how it can be fixed. It probably wouldn't be as bad if the Crosstown Expressway existed, smh.

[ET21]

 

Maybe once the Circle upgrades are done it'll help a bit. Not a lot, but alleviate some of the hell

[dzlsabe]

Would you settle for the south half of the Crosstown and a great CTA line from Midway to JeffPark along Kenton?

You can see it from space. Its as plain as the nose on your face. No more 90/94. VP Biden, please hang out here for a week undercover. Dont make me change my name to Pythagorus.

[peterj920]

Maybe once the Circle upgrades are done it'll help a bit. Not a lot, but alleviate some of the hell

The north end will still be a mess.  Every time I drive down there traffic backs up at the Edens/Kennedy merge where 6 lanes merge down to 4.  Having the center lanes merge wasn't a good design. 

[dzlsabe]

Hypotenuse? I-94 says to I-90, "we are breaking up". Its not me, its you. Youve been eating all the groceries and not paying the rent for 38 years. Move out, you lazy carpet-bagging  bum.

[Jardine]

The only way to be sure is to nuke the site from orbit.

[Brandon]

Hypotenuse? I-94 says to I-90, "we are breaking up". Its not me, its you. Youve been eating all the groceries and not paying the rent for 38 years. Move out, you lazy carpet-bagging  bum.

Doesn't solve the problem by simply moving the route number.  People will still use the road regardless of the number to commute between the NW suburbs and the Loop.

Yet again, you miss the point that your Hypotenuse Expressway does not work with existing traffic patterns, primarily the flow of traffic into and out of the Loop for commuting.

[dzlsabe]

And yet again, you miss the point that its not supposed to "work" with existing traffic patterns. Existing traffic patterns SUCK. It allows a bypass of the flow of traffic into and out of the Loop. Thereby reducing traffic on the Ike, N Ryan, and #1 the Kennedy.

[Henry]

Here we go with that stupid Hypotenuse Expressway again! I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with Kennedy traffic on a daily basis, not since I moved away in '88.

[dzlsabe]

Here we go with that stupid Hypotenuse Expressway again! I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with Kennedy traffic on a daily basis, not since I moved away in '88.

Reply #17 on Hypo topic you said "thats actually not a bad proposal there. It might be more of a worthwhile project than the Crosstown could ever be"

[ChiMilNet]

http://abc7chicago.com/traffic/study-kennedy-expy-is-nations-worst-traffic-bottleneck/1096530/


This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I just don't see how it can be fixed. It probably wouldn't be as bad if the Crosstown Expressway existed, smh.

I remember I had seen proposals to toll the express lanes to help fund improvements to the expressway. If anything, I would say do away with the antiquated reversible lanes concept, and use the ROW to add one (possibly two if it can fit) HOT lane(s) each way. People would pay to use those lanes, and this way there is at least one extra lane each way throughout the day (seriously, the direction the the reversibles are NOT open always seems to jam). Now, if there was ever a way to add a lane to the Kennedy from the I-190 merge to the Edens Junction... not holding my breath on that one, but the mess there is about to be accentuated even more by the addition of lanes to the NW Tollway (I know what its current name is) Portion of I-90.

[dzlsabe]

The trouble with those proposals is that constructing ANY of them would make existing horrible traffic even worse for years. With NO guarantee of success.

As far as the Crosstown, it seems everybody is alright with the southern part of it...a point around I-55 and Cicero Av. to the Skyway. The alignment proposed in Hypo is much shorter, not anywhere near as disruptive, destructive or expensive as the original alignment, that proposed going south along Cicero, past Midway, then a right angle to the Ryan and Skyway. 

The north part of original Crosstown, from I-55 and Cicero, proposed paralleling Cicero (or Kenton). Again huge destruction, expense, opposition, logistical and engineering nightmares. Thats what has killed it at least two times. Certainly a new CTA transit line (see Crosstown TAN in transit) along Kenton from Midway would be relatively easy and I doubt there would be much opposition to that.

But going NW from I-55 and Cicero to the Strangler actually shortens distances by a minimum SIX miles, and I believe is the way Pythagoras would say to go.

[quickshade]

Dare I say we look at Bostons BigDig. I know there was a lot of technical problems from that. And the cost was insane. But is there a balance we could find that doesn't divert all traffic from the top lanes. Something like an express 3 lanes (each direction) underneath what already exists. Don't get me wrong i'm no engineer but I know a lot of towns and cities across the world have based concepts off of it.

[Henry]

Here we go with that stupid Hypotenuse Expressway again! I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with Kennedy traffic on a daily basis, not since I moved away in '88.

Reply #17 on Hypo topic you said "thats actually not a bad proposal there. It might be more of a worthwhile project than the Crosstown could ever be"

Well, then my apologies. I would like to see the Hypotenuse built, even if it is just wishful thinking.