(Rich Renomeron/Flickr)
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - An estimated two-year closure starts Monday night on lanes of Cicero Avenue near Midway International Airport for airport improvement projects.
One lane of traffic will be closed until early 2020 in both directions on Cicero between 56th and 61st streets, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. The closures will reduce Cicero from six lanes to four lanes for roughly a quarter-mile, with two lanes remaining open in both directions.
The lane reduction will remain in place through early 2020 to accommodate construction that will widen Midway’s terminal pedestrian bridge over Cicero, the CDA said.
Over the next three weeks, nightly lane closures will also happen from 9:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. in the outermost lane of southbound Cicero, the CDA said. As part of the project, crews will construct an additional roadway surface for traffic and demolish the median separating northbound and southbound lanes near the airport terminal.
After the median is demolished, construction will begin to widen the bridge over Cicero, the CDA said. The project is part of the Midway Modernization Program, a nearly $400 million capital upgrade announced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2015.
Drivers traveling to Midway should allow additional travel time, the CDA said.
To avoid traffic on Cicero, drivers should use Pulaski Road to the east, and Central Avenue or Harlem Avenue to the west, the CDA said. Midway travelers are encouraged to use the CTA Orange Line or economy parking lots to avoid traffic on Cicero.