Cumberland Flyover opens to traffic Thursday

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that the new Cumberland Flyover will be open to traffic, weather permitting, in time for the morning commute on Thursday, Sept. 20. The joint project with the Illinois Tollway removes a longtime bottleneck, improves safety and enhances access in and out of O'Hare International Airport and surrounding areas.

"The Cumberland Flyover brings relief to one of the most congested points in the Chicago region and highlights the teamwork between IDOT and the Tollway," said Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. "Business owners and residents, customers and workers at O'Hare will see the benefits immediately. By modernizing this crucial travel corridor, we make the region safer and poised for even more economic growth for years to come."

The project broke ground in 2016 and involved building a new two-lane flyover bridge that spans both Interstate 190 and the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line to better accommodate inbound Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90) exiting onto the busy Cumberland Avenue interchange. A new collector-distributor road from inbound I-190 also connects to the new ramp and the jobs and businesses along Cumberland Avenue.

"The improvements that IDOT is delivering at Cumberland are the result of our coordinated planning efforts on the I-90 Corridor as a whole," said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Liz Gorman. "In addition to supporting the Illinois Tollway's $2.5 billion I-90 Rebuilding and Widening Project completed in 2016, these improvements are providing better traffic flow between the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and I-190 to the Kennedy Expressway, along with direct access to the Cumberland ramps."

To coincide with the recent reconstruction and widening of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, IDOT currently is building an additional inbound Kennedy Expressway (I-90) lane between Cumberland and Harlem avenues as part of the project. Construction of a new lane in the outbound direction began earlier this year and will open in 2020. The $23.9 million project was planned by IDOT and the Tollway, with the Tollway contributing $13.1 million toward construction.

An advance project by IDOT rebuilt the East River Road bridge over the expressway. The $11 million project made possible the construction of the flyover bridge and the additional lanes on the Kennedy.