Construction Forecast Gloomy
CHICAGO (WBBM) – If you're feeling the slightly cooler weather and starting to wonder when road construction season ends, prepare yourself for about another four to six weeks worth.
There are about 250 IDOT roadwork projects going on this season in the Chicago area, according to Jacek Tyszkiewicz, IDOT's engineer of project implementation for the Chicago area
When will they end? Despite the three week Operating Engineers strike, most will wrap up by October 30th, their scheduled completion dates.
A few, like the 27-mile Eisenhower Expressway resurfacing project, will likely go longer, a couple of weeks into November.
Tyszkiewicz says the east end of the Ike work should be done on time, Oct. 31st, but that the west end will probably go into the first week or two of November. He says it will most certainly be done before Thanksgiving.
Despite the three-week Operating Engineers and Laborers union strikes, he says contractors used good weather to step up work and pick up time, allowing most projects to finish on time.
Cost for the IDOT roadwork projects this year: about $550 million.
