The annual Global Traffic Scorecard was released yesterday by INIX and it Chicago did not look good. According to the study’s findings, Chicago was tied with New York as the worst in the U.S. for traffic congestion and was only behind Hong Kong globally.

INRIX, a transportation data and analytics firm, showed that Chicago and New York commuters lost an average of 102 hours sitting in traffic last year. Los Angeles ranked third with 88 hours lost.

The average speed of a downtown Chicago commute was approximately 14 mph, tied for the third-slowest in the country. INRIX calculated that the…
Continue Reading Chicago Tied For Worst Traffic In U.S. In 2024

The holiday season is upon us and there are records numbers of people on the roads in the Chicagoland area. People are driving to visit family, go on vacation or just attending holiday parties. It’s important to take precautions before hitting the road this year. According to Patch.com, the Lake County Illinois Sheriff’s office and the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) are launching a holiday safety traffic initiative called  “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Drive High, Get a DUI.” The program runs from December 17 through January 2.

The Lake County Sheriff’s office is urging all drivers to…
Continue Reading Lake County Launches Holiday Driving Safety Program

I wrote earlier this fall that the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) was expected to complete the construction on the I-90/94 (“Kennedy”) express lane construction by the “late fall.” Unfortunately they did not meet their own deadline as they announced this week that the express lanes would not open back up until mid-January 2025.

IDOT blames the delay on “software issues.” In their press release they stated, “Due to the complexity of the overall Reversible Lane Access Control system, additional time is needed to ensure the safety components are fully integrated and their functions operating seamlessly.”

This means continued gridlock…
Continue Reading IDOT Announces Delay In Kennedy Express Lane Opening

I wrote a few months back regarding the Illinois State Police’s (“ISP) special enforcement period referred to as “Click it or Ticket.” The ISP increased daytime and nighttime patrols focused on enforcing impaired driving, occupant restraint, speeding, and distracted driving, with the ultimate goal of lowering traffic fatalities in Central Illinois.

The ISP announced recently the following results:

Occupant Restraint Violations 12Driving Under the Influence and Drug/Alcohol-Related Citations 0Speeding Citations and Warnings 24Distracted Driving Citations and Warnings 3Total Citations 45Total Written Warnings 2

Surprisingly there were no DUI arrests during this enforcement period. I think we can view this as…
Continue Reading Illinois State Police Announce Results of Click It or Ticket Enforcement Program

Winter in Chicago is hear and with it comes slick roads, snow, ice and fog. These conditions can limit visibility and make driving much more dangerous. The Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) issued some valuable winter weather driving tips that will hopefully make your time behind the wheel much safer.

IDOT suggests drivers follow these rules and tips:

• Always wear a seat belt. It’s the law in Illinois.
• Slow down. Slower speeds, slower acceleration, slower steering and slower braking all are required in winter driving conditions.
• Drop it and drive. Put down the handheld devices – it, too, is the

…
Continue Reading Winter Driving Tips Provided By IDOT

The Illinois Tollway Highway Authority announced this week that they were activating SmartRoad technology on the northern section of the 22-mile Central Tri-State Tollway (1-294).

SmartRoad, which recieved funding from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation, will provid eal-time, lane-specific information on message boards detailing traffic incidents and lane closure notifications. It will aim to provide improved travel time information through upgraded traffic sensors, which will also be installed on ramps to monitor for potential backups. The technology will also provid inside lane and shoulder flex lanes, enabling the tollway to shift traffic around incidents and reduce backups. There will also be…
Continue Reading Illinois Tollways Launch New Traffic Managment Technology

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) announed this week that General Motors is recalling 461,000 trucks and SUVs based on a transmission issue. The vehicles recalled include the 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.

The specific auto defect involves a transmission control valve on the impacted vehicles may fail causing the rear wheels to lock up, the NHTSA said, which would increase the risk of a crash.

GM dealers will install a new transmission control module software free of charge and GM will provide a special coverage program for repairing transmissions identified…
Continue Reading GM Recalls Close To 500,000 Trucks

According to multiple news outlets like ABC 7 and Blockclub, there will be multiple lane closures around Chicago this week.

The resurfacing of Dusable Lakeshore Drive continues this week as all but 2 southbound lanes will be closed from Irving Park Road and the LaSalle Street exit on Monday and Tuesday between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. Also, the shouthbound lanes will be limited to 3 between Hollywood Boulevard and Lawrence.

On top of this, the northbound Kennedy exit at Ohio Street will be closed all week.

These are 2 major closures that will disrupt commute times. This may be…
Continue Reading Multiple Closures Will Tie Up Traffic In Chicago This Week

Illinois Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias, announced this week that his office is launching a driver safety program focused on young drivers and distracted driving. This new program is part of National Teen Driver Safety Week.

The program, call “One Road, One Focus” will call for safety zones in areas where lots of crashes have happened. It will also ask lawmakers to fund new grants for local departments to start their own enforcement programs and remind prosecutors to get accused distracted drivers’ license suspended in the event of serious injury or death. Also included is a mandatory video teens will…
Continue Reading Illinois Announces New Driver Safety Program

I wrote earlier this week that there was a new law presented in the Chicago city council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety that would lower the speed limit on city streets to 25 mph. According to multiple new outlets, including WGN News, the proposed law passed through the committee process and heads to the full city council for a vote.

The law would lower the speed limit on city streets only. It would not apply to streets owned by the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”). It’s not clear from the research I’ve done how many Chicago streets are under…
Continue Reading Law To Lower Speed Limit In Chicago Passes Through Committee

According to NBC Chicago, the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) will complete phase 2 of the Kennedy Expressway construction by late fall of this year. They did not provide an exact date.

Phase 2 of the Kennedy construction has included updating all of the Reversible Lane Access Controls (“REVLAC”) in the express lanes. IDOT provided the following statement on the construction so far: “The REVLAC system controls the gates and changes the direction of traffic in the reversible lanes. The work includes installing 120 gates, controls (local and remote), cameras, electrical components, fiber optic cables and terminal blocks along the…
Continue Reading IDOT Announces Completion Date For Kennedy Expressway Construction