Chicago Debates Merits of Expanding the Kennedy Expressway

Construction is underway to expand Chicago's Kennedy Expressway, which stretches between the city's center and O'Hare International Airport. The additional room would be added to the area where the I-90 and I-94 merge. The plans has, so far, received mixed reviews. While some claim the additional room will shrink travel times and make the interchange safer, others say that the added space will just increase the volume of traffic on the highway, leading to more accidents. In his DNA Info story Alex Nitkin explains, "A chorus of public transportation advocates is warning that the new lanes could just attract more traffic in the long run, opening the door to even more fender benders — or worse."

Nitkin also spoke with Gianna Urgo, a Chicago transportation representative, who said, "Adding the new lanes would give cars more room and time to merge… That would potentially alleviate travel times throughout the region and have safety implications as well.'" The fear is that those implication would actually be negative.

The Kennedy Expressway might not be the only highway in the Chicago area to get an expansion. There's also been talk of expanding the I-55. A plan that's drawn a lot of the same criticisms.