Jane Byrne Interchange Project comes to end after more than decade of construction

CHICAGO - The Jane Byrne Interchange Project is nearly done after more than a decade of construction.

The construction project ran overtime and over budget, but in the end improved what was the country’s most congested interchange.

The massive project connects the Kennedy, the Eisenhower and the Dan Ryan Expressways, plus Ida B. Wells Drive. It involved 35 different contracts, with crews building new roads over the existing ones. Lanes were added, the shoulders are wider, and bridges were re-built.

The $806 million mega project was supposed to be done in 2018, but there were unexpected issues. The area is well traveled, 400,000 vehicles travel through the Jane Byrne interchange each day.

"It's going to reduce congestion by about 50 percent in the 2040 design year compared to pre-construction, and it’s going to reduce crash potential by about 25 percent for severe injuries and fatal crashes," Steve Travia from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Office of Highways said.

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Governor J.B. Pritzker was on hand at the ribbon cutting ceremony, praising those who worked on the project. 

"Illinois’ first-rate workforce worked day in day out to entirely reconstruct this massive project, 19 bridges of which were tri-level flyovers. In a room full of engineers, I’m told that's the toughest thing you can manage," Pritzker said.

The late Mayor Jane Byrne’s daughter, Kathy Byrne said her mom knew this was a big honor. 

"What the Jane Byrne Interchange does is bring all of Chicago together, from the south, the west and the north. It makes us one Chicago," Kathy said.

The project isn’t over, there’s lighting, painting and landscaping to be done. But it is officially, "substantially complete."