Completion 12: South Lake Shore Drive Rebuild
Cost: $162 million

Several initiatives were implemented to ensure that the impact on motorists was minimal during the reconstruction of a 6-mi.-long stretch of South Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

Traffic flow was maintained during the height of construction, which affected the thoroughfare between 22nd and 67th streets.

Approximately 24,000 vehicles a day go through the road segment's southern reach, and the number increases to more than 110,000 vehicles on the segment's north end.

A movable barrier - sometimes referred to as a zipper wall - that simultaneously closes a lane in one direction while it opens a lane in the other was used between the Stevenson Expressway and 47th Street to create a temporary reversible lane. Because only five lanes of traffic on the mostly eight-lane segment were open for use at any time, the system allowed three lanes of traffic in the direction of rush hour.

The zipper wall, which during the project's start took five days to link together with pins, was 3 mi. in length. To move the wall, a machine picked up the precast segments on one side, and they emerged from the other. The changeover took approximately an hour.

Rebuild Due to Traffic

The segment was crumbling due to heavy traffic from everyday use, recreation and tourism. Though the segment was resurfaced in 1999, portions of the underlying roadway dated to the original construction between 1910 and 1931.

A number of additional project goals were identified during the planning, and enhancements were made to the drive's engineering, pedestrian access and overall appearance.

No new lanes were added, but the drive is expected to handle increased traffic due to improved roadway geometry.

An exit lane, for example, was built at northbound 47th Street to improve traffic flow.

A new lane was also created to improve traffic safety between the inbound lane from the Stevenson Expressway and 31st Street, the only stretch that allows trucks.
Previously, traffic on the stretch, much of it headed to the McCormick Place Convention Center, merged into mainline traffic.

Roadway composition varies by location.

The road between 22nd and 57th had been removed and replaced with 9 in. of concrete. About 4,000 cu. yds. of concrete was poured every day.

South of 57th Street, where Jackson Park starts, the composition changes. The 9-in.-thick concrete base is topped with a 1.5-in.-thick binder and 1.5-in.-thick asphalt surface.

Noise from traffic on the asphalt surface will be less in the park where solitude is valued, and the dark surface will also be less jarring than concrete's bright surface.

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