Summer Season Creates Many Construction Jobs in Chicago

Posted on March 31, 2010

The summer construction season could turn Chicago’s major east-west expressway into a parking lot, but besides the hassle to commuters, the improvements will create many construction jobs in Chicago.

According to MyFoxChicago.com, the first construction barrels and barriers were scheduled to go up at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The closures will involve the ramps leading from the Eisenhower expressway to Wacker Drive, lanes on the Congress Parkway Bridge, and lanes on the Eisenhower Expressway from Thorndale to the Circle interchange.

Chicago drivers are getting a triple dose of you-can’t-get-there-from-here as three major re-paving and reconstruction projects start Wednesday night and continue for three years.

Ald. Robert Fioretti said the road reconstruction affects his entire second ward, and the pain is worth the gain.

“The improvement of the transportation,” said Fioretti, “The creation of 3,000 jobs, and a project with a total cost of over $510 million is well worth it for the future of this city.”

Commuters are being asked to use public transportation, and if they are driving in from the west allow an extra hour, each way.

If the projects were staggered instead of done at the same time they would take as long as 12 years, according to Jim Farrell, President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. He says this way the state and taxpayers get the benefit of using federal stimulus monies to improve infrastructure and put people to work.