SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Commuters Tuesday morning (January 15) will feel the initial impact of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s first major expressway project of 2002: the $17.9 million reconstruction of the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) / Franklin Connector from Cermak Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94).

Work on the Connector--a major entry point into Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood will begin with the closure of the northbound Stevenson ramp to the northbound Franklin Connector (Cermak exit) and the southbound Franklin Connector ramp to the southbound Stevenson.

Closure of the ramps, which will be in effect until the end of the project in late October, will allow crews to begin extensive bridge demolition work.

Motorists travelling northbound on the Stevenson will be directed to use Martin Luther King Drive (north) to Cermak Road as a detour into Chinatown. Motorists leaving the Chinatown area can take Cermak to Martin Luther King Drive or Canalport Avenue.

The project involves the replacement of seven bridges, complete pavement reconstruction of the Franklin Connector from Cermak Road to the Dan Ryan, reconstruction of ramps between I-55 and I-90/94, and improved roadway lighting.

Lorig Construction Company of Des Plaines is the contractor for the project, which is funded by Governor George H. Ryan’s Illinois FIRST program.

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