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Bridge Work, Heavy Traffic Overnight Make A Mess On Stevenson

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Motorists who use the inbound Stevenson Expressway encountered much more than they bargained for overnight.

WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports only one lane was open at Central Avenue, except for periodic 15-minute total lane closures overnight, as crews erected a new crossbeam on the bridge.

Hundreds of motorists stewed in traffic much longer than 15 minutes. One driver said it took him 45 minutes to drive the 2.5 miles from Harlem to Central on I-55.

According to Illinois State Police, traffic was heavier than expected overnight on the inbound Stevenson, so when the 15-minute total lane closures ended, the bottleneck to the single open lane left many drivers sitting through a second total lane closure.

To make matters worse, a drunk driver was caught near that spot at 1:30 a.m.

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