Editor’s note: We asked readers to share their thoughts about the road and bridge construction in Chicago that is causing headaches for many. Here are their letters.
CDOT has a lot to answer for
In my industry, there’s a phrase: You can do something good, fast or cheap. Pick two of the three. The meaning is that, for example, if you do something good and fast, it likely won’t be cheap. Why can’t the Chicago Department of Transportation pick even one of these three?
Much has been written about the simultaneous Chicago River bridge closures, so I’m going to focus instead on the Canal Street viaduct project as an example of complete mismanagement. The project kicked off in the summer of 2023, with the full closure of Canal from Jackson Boulevard to Adams Street. Projected to take 18 months, work in earnest began late. If the contractor, F.H. Paschen, wasn’t ready to begin work until after winter, why was the road closed early? The 18-month mark came and went, with a partial reopening of Canal occurring in late December 2025, more than two years after the initial closure.
Phase 1 is finally complete, but that doesn’t mean it was done well. Before the stretch of road reopened, cracks appeared in the new concrete deck. These cracks were noticed; most were marked with spray paint and arrows and eventually filled in. What does that spell for the viaduct’s longevity? Cracks may not seem like a problem, but the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University experienced cracking, too, before it collapsed, killing six.
Lastly, there’s the cost. News releases and updates about the viaduct reconstruction didn’t mention the price tag. A similar project, the reconstruction of the Harrison Street viaduct between Canal and the river, completed several months late in October, cost roughly $21 million. That project needed to be built over railroad tracks, so the delay there is more understandable.
Is CDOT or its contractor covering cost overruns on the viaduct project? How much are those? What about the cracking? What is the warranty period and projected life span of Canal?
CDOT has a lot to answer for. It should focus on recent management failures and address those so the next projects don’t suffer the same fate of being bad, slow and expensive.
— Brian Kaempen, Chicago
Mismanagement of repaving
Street repaving in my neighborhood (East Rogers Park) has been a disaster this year. We started seeing notices months ago in our alderwoman’s weekly newsletter that our street was scheduled for grinding on a certain date. The date kept slipping week after week. The Chicago Department of Transportation finally posted no-parking notices (for a 10-day stretch) shortly before we left for vacation, so we parked on another street. When we returned, nothing had happened.
Notices went up a few times after that — again, false alarms. A crew managed to do the asphalt stripping two weeks ago, leaving many areas with extremely rough concrete substrate and manholes sticking up — enough to damage a car. That day, we experienced a half dozen debris-hauling trucks idling their diesel engines in violation of Chicago ordinance before the stripping machine finally showed up.
Next, another set of no-parking signs went up and came down (except for several that were mistakenly left up), with no work having been done. Recently, signs once again appeared prohibiting parking for the next two weeks. This all affects several adjacent blocks with dozens of cars.
More Top Picks Best Sleeping Bag Liners For Travel
Despite paying extra for permit parking, we are unable to park on our block for indeterminate lengths of time, usually for no reason.
Is the problem overextended contractors? CDOT ineptitude? Why can’t our alderwoman ride herd on this chronic disruptive disorganization on behalf of her constituents?
Surely there’s a way to hold the city and contractors to a more dependable timeline and/or notify affected residents of the actual date work will occur.
— Andrew S. Mine, Chicago
Department of Vehicular Chaos
Thank you for soliciting comments on Chicago drivers’ headaches. Words cannot express my feelings on the Chicago Department of Vehicular Chaos. It’s also known as the Chicago Department of Transportation, which is an oxymoron.
There has never been any consideration of the inconveniences caused by CDOT. A great example is CDOT permitting a major street construction project on Grand Avenue while closing the Chicago Avenue bridge. Travel west was a nightmare, and the department couldn’t have cared less.
Its practice of permitting construction projects at the same time in adjoining areas, causing the most inconvenience to vehicular traffic, wins the award for most perversity.
— Richard Prince, Chicago
It’s progress, so don’t kvetch
Regarding headaches and frustrations about street construction and the letter “Blown tires at O’Hare, Midway” (Aug. 30): We complain about the construction, and we complain about the repairs needed. So how is this supposed to work then? At what time can the work be done?
When someone talks to me about the headaches, I tell them that Chicago is alive. When there is movement in construction on buildings or streets, that means a city is alive!
I remember when Detroit was almost dead from disinvestment and people were leaving the city. Yes, more can be done in Chicago, but let’s not complain about progress.
— Elena Duran, Chicago
A surefire fix for headaches
Traffic delays due to construction on Chicago streets and bridges are nothing new this year. Rather, they are something to be expected, especially during the summer season. Such delays are no less inevitable than death and taxes.
Let’s face it. There’s never going to be optimal city management of road closures and detours to everyone’s liking, no matter how many public hearings of driver angst and outcry take place. With new administrations coming and going just about every four years now, Chicago has a history of ever-changing, inconsistent traffic management policies that fail to live up to stated goals.
But the frustration that goes with the observed delays can be reduced considerably at the individual level by relying less on autos and more on bicycles and adult tricycles to get around town, especially in the most congested areas near downtown during rush hour periods.
If riding a bike or an adult trike is a doable option, hundreds of miles of city-designated bike lanes offer a healthier, more-cost effective alternative during the summer and beyond. Your heart, lungs and nerves will thank you for it. So will Mother Nature and your wallet, with zero emissions and zero fuel costs.
I’m talking about manual-pedal bikes versus e-bikes that add to your electric bill, and the electricity may be generated by fossil fuels. Zero parking costs are a bonus.
Over the past several years in the city, I have noticed a gradual shift away from ferrying children and groceries using autos to using bikes for the same purposes. In the summer, why not take advantage of the best weather Chicago has to offer by hitting the bike lanes instead of the auto lanes?
Further, using a bike lane, whether in a construction zone or not, one can get through every major intersection waiting for, at most, one red light to change, not multiple red lights typically experienced by drivers at the same intersections.
Yes, rain can slow down a bicyclist’s time, and severe summer storms can cause a bicyclist to reschedule a planned ride, but auto traffic can get unbearably snarled and commute times can fast skyrocket when major weather events do strike in construction zones.
Which stress would you prefer to face?
— Mark Grenchik, Chicago
An annoyance but worth it
Regarding ongoing road construction in Chicago: Although I live in Naperville, I sometimes feel that my driveway is the only area not under construction these days. No matter which way you travel, barricades, signs, and construction trucks and workers are all over the place.
The end result will probably be worth all this hassle and mess, but for now, it is just an annoyance to all commuters.
— Arlene Hogan, Naperville
More Top Picks Best Laptops For Note Taking With Stylus
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].