Eisenhower exit ramp at Franklin to reopen Monday
BY TINA SFONDELES Transportation Reporter tsfondeles@suntimes.com July 11, 2012 12:52PM
Updated: July 11, 2012 3:09PM
A widely used Eisenhower Expressway exit ramp at Franklin Street will reopen early next week as city officials continue their work on the $300 million Wacker Drive reconstruction project. Also, the newly reconstructed intersection of Adams and Wacker will reopen to two lanes on Friday for the first time since closing earlier this year, the city’s Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday.
The exit ramp at Franklin will reopen Monday night. Also on Monday, Franklin will be converted to a northbound one-way street from Harrison to Van Buren.
Van Buren from Franklin to Wells Street has been converted to a two-way street to provide a route to the expressway for vehicles heading north. Those vehicles will now turn east on Van Buren to Wells, then turn south to access the Eisenhower Expressway, the department said.
In the previous configuration, there were two I-290 access ramps from Lower Wacker and Franklin that the city said created a dangerous double-merge. The new plan will eliminate the Franklin entrance ramp to improve safety.
Construction on the massive project is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
