Swami, I’ve heard about the road work this fall on the Edens Expressway (that’s Interstate 94 for all you civilians) in Chicago. Is it going to affect us here in Lake County? Can we survive? Are we doomed?
Well, gentle reader, the Swami wishes he had better news for you. But you are doomed, if you have to visit the big city regularly.
Starting this week – Friday it would seem to be, according to the crystal ball – life as you know it will be lousy.
There will be lane closings in both directions of the Edens between Lawrence Avenue in Chicago and Lake Cook Road at the gateway to Lake County.
According to the state, here’s what you face:
The right lane and shoulder in both directions will be closed over long portions of the 14-mile construction zone from Lawrence to Lake Cook until Nov. 4. The repaired shoulder will be used as a travel lane next year when lanes are shut down. (Yes, it‘s going to be even worse in 2008.)
From 10 p.m. Fridays until 9 a.m. Saturdays, the center lane will be closed for patching, leaving only the left lane open. The center lane will remain closed on weekend days to allow the concrete patches to cure. The outside and inside lanes will be open.
At the start of the project, there will also be occasional overnight closures of two lanes from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays.
First option, of course, is to head over to Green Bay Road or Sheridan for the trip south. Oh, it will be so lovely.
Second option: You can head for Iowa for the loooong trip around.
Third option? Leap into Lake Michigan and swim to Gary, where you pick up the westbound South Shore train and get into the Loop about 10 days later.
Option four: Go to Chicago now and just stay the until the winter of 2009. That way you won't miss the Cubs in the World Series
Oh, come on. You should try commuting in SE Virginia, where I-64 (or 264 or 464 or 564 or 664) is perpetually under construction, there are no express lanes (just "HOV" lanes where you either have to ride a motorcycle or have 20 people in your TR6) and where mass transit is practically nonexistent (no trains, just buses in the city, which doesn't do a whole lot of good for people who have to travel 40 miles to work from the twigs). Add a hurricane and 20,000 people evacuating the Outer Banks on the solitary road north, and the Edens in the throes of construction will look like Paradise.