The Kennedy Expressway

This «Expressway» SUCKS 92% of the time.
I’d give the commute a 1 star. Morning and evening is absolutely HORRIFIC! Give yourself an extra hour at least because you never know who’s gonna decide to try and make their exit from the far left lane with less than 100 feet to the ramp.
But that deuce rating is all about the road condition. Smooth, hardly any pot holes worth crying about and the off ramps are well marked with plenty of notice before you get to it. Which begs the question: Why are there always people merging in from the left lane at the LAST possible minute? Why?! JUST WHY?!
But this beast is the main artery to the northern suburbs unless you wanna tempt fate and use LSD and a few other backstreets to get there. Either choice will likely leave you white knuckled and honking or swearing once or thrice.

I love that on Unilocal I can rate an expressway. To whit the expressway is longer equipped to handle its basic needs and should be sold to a new owner. :)
I took a cab to the airport at noon on a weekday and it was completely backed up for no good reason. So in that sense it delivers poor value. It doesn’t even cover the basics. I urge you to consider other expressways when shopping for a route.

The Kennedy is the absolute worst expressway in all of Chicago. Be sure to pack a meal and also use the restroom before you leave. (I’ve unfortunately witnessed people taking both #1s and #2s along the shoulder) Travel times from Montrose to o’hare may vary from 15 minutes to 11 years. Three lanes of traffic is clearly not enough to support the high volume of people who commute to the west burbs and back.

This is one of the worst roads to take during rush hour. It can take upwards of an hour and 20 minutes just to travel from the NW side of the city to the loop — even using the express lanes.
Avoid it at all costs — but it’s really the only game in town to go NW from the city so you’re kinda screwed no matter what. Take Milwaukee if you don’t have to go too far.
I avoid driving this during rush hour AT ALL COSTS. The blue line is the superior option if you’re pressed for time and it’s between 7am — 10am and 3pm — 7pm.

Terrible. You can’t predict when the traffic is jammed. Some times sunday nights could be very slow. I suggest building a second floor all the way from ohare to indiana! This might solve the problem

The drivers tend to be terrible, the reversible tend to be hit or miss, and the concrete has seen better days, getting beat up 24÷7÷365. There are few alternative routes though, so hang on. Express/​Reversible lanes always are open for the direction of rush traffic, and if you know where the exits/​entrances are, it tends to be a faster commute.
On the other hand, I suggest CTA Blue Line as a fast alternative to the Kennedy.

ILDOT doesn’t care about the «reverse» commute (people who work in the suburbs, live in the city). The Kennedy reversibles are apparently only in place to serve the «normal» commute even as traffic times for the reverse commute are regularly 1.5 to 2X the normal commute times for a given highway stretch and time.
All I am saying is that an attempt at even feigning a little fairness with the reversibles would be much appreciated. I’m surprised the city doesn’t at least try to intervene, because it seems like preferentially serving the city dwelling reverse commuters would be desirable due to the higher tax dollars they generate over the normal commuters (property and sales tax) + all those grateful voters. Am I wrong?
It would be nice if the reversibles were kept going into the city at least a few times a month. Why not try it as an experiment?
(yes, I know that the Kennedy expressway doesn’t exist in a vacuum and traffic flow problems spill over into other expressways. I also know that the city and ILDOT are separate government entities and the city likely has little to no direct influence over how they run their affairs.)

I imagine any review of the Kennedy Expressway’s going to seem redundant for those who drive it regularly… However, it’s one of Chicago’s iconic expressways and named after the the 35^th U.S. President John F. Kennedy. It’s a great strip of asphalt and concrete stretching 17.8 miles between O’Hare International Airport to the west, and to the Circle Interchange to the east… The strip is well traveled, and during the rush hour (which seemingly lasts all day), travel times can take over one hour and ten minutes in either direction (so it’s more like a parking lot than expressway during those times).
I frequently need to drive the Kennedy during rush hour and realize my time is completely wasted, limited to listening to talk radio, news, PBS, or music (you can’t read, txt or email) … If I could only take the train; please PEOPLE take the TRAIN if you are able! You’d be doing the people who MUST drive a big favor… by taking the train you’ll «better the community and environment we live in», you’d be doing us a humanitarian service…

Great expressway if you plan ahead and avoid rush hour traffic. It will take you almost anywhere you need to go in Illinois. The roads are well kept and not completely torn up with pot holes.

One thing to point out in Chicago is that there’s really no such thing as an easy reverse commute, and that’s especially true for people who live in the city and work by O’Hare or the northwest suburbs. If you leave at a certain time in the morning, you are literally breezing along and the commute is easy peasy. Wait not even 10 minutes later to leave the house and you’re in traffic hell and your tranquil voice turns into that of a sailor’s mouth. Compound that at least 2x on the evening commute.
Best word of advice — If you can take CTA or Metra easily to work, do it.

It’s an expressway from point a to point b. If you get there, it worked, right?

Couple of thing ya need to know. Before this was built people had to take regular roads like Irving Park Road or Lake Street so when this was built you could commute from the Northwest suburbs to the city in record speed.
Its always under construction and thus will always be a a mess but having commuted daily to O’Hare for my sweet airline job, gotta say, if ya time it right, you can make it from Armitage to Manheim Road in 18 minutes… if you time it wrong, you’re doing time, lilke an hour of time. Plus I am a driving ninja and know when to take express lanes, when to go local, when to take Elston, so I guess thats why I’m not a hater.
I’ve been in accidents on this expressway. Neither my fault. Accidents happen. Hang up and drive.

Things that happen on this highway
1) getting hit by illegal immigrants with no insurance and watching them take off on the shoulder and speeding into the ghetto
2) bumper to bumper traffic
3) corrupt city cops preying on people
4) Rush hours from 6am to 11am and from 1pm to 8pm… thats reasonable

Well, Kennedy, you are hit & miss.
You have that terrible, terrible congestion where 2910 merges & the Congress lanes are closed… but… if I am lucky (& travelling post-​rush hour times) once I travel past that little nexus of traffic it is (usually!) smoooooooth sailing.
Pro-​CHI driver tips: stay out of the immediate left & right lanes, as traffic merging in plus that maybe/​maybe not express lane tends to jam everyone up. Just calm your horses, take a few deep breaths & stay in the center lanes… once you pass the congestive mess you will be free as a birdie.

I once got so hangry sitting in traffic on the Kennedy that I happily ate three pieces of gum back-​to-​back like it was my last meal.
And it was… for another two hours, anyway.
Now I always stock my car with water, fresh fruit and granola bars before entering the Kennedy. Plus it’s great fun to watch a banana ripen before your very eyes!
I will return, but not by choice.

Got rear ended sitting in stop and go traffic.
I love the Kennedy, like I love fundamentalist ranting on the radio.

I wish I could give the Kennedy NEGATIVE FIVE THOUSAND STARS. I cannot impart to you with words, facial expressions, violent physical rampages, or any combination thereof how deeply rooted is my hatred for this stretch of pavement.
I think I’m fine because it’s midnight on a Sunday. NOPE. Stopped traffic. I think I’ll outsmart it by taking the Blue Line to O’Hare during rush hour because I always sit in stopped traffic watching the Blue Line blaze by me. NOPE. Hit with a slow zone and watching outbound traffic blow by so fast I want to jump head-​first into it.
Anytime. Every time. No matter what time. The worst traffic in the city of Chicago. DAMN YOU, KENNEDY.

You do not want to F with this. Stay far, far away. I’ve never experienced another place with rush hour-​like traffic at the oddest times. 9pm on weekdays, 2am mid-​week, and even 8pm on Sundays. WTF? Sunday is supposed to be primo travel conditions. This makes me not so mad when I go home and experience Twin Cities traffic. and no, our rush hour is NOT a dead moose in the road.
My mother bought me a Garmin Nuvi 765T as a birthday/​Christmas present. It has built in traffic monitoring, so it knows to keep me off this metal trap at… all the time.
P. S. I hate tolls.

Dear Kennedy Expressway,
You’re my highway. You get me to and from work everyday in a timely manner. I know you’re busy and I know that other people are mad at you, but it’s not your fault! You’re so nice now with your four lanes of regular traffic plus rush hour express lanes. You fit so many people on you! It’s not your fault that almost 300,000 people decide to take you everyday — you can’t help it! You’re the busiest road in Illinois! It’s OK, I forgive you. You’re just so nice after all of that horrible construction that I can’t stay mad at you. I love that one of your entrances is right by my house and another is right by my job. You’re just so convenient! I can traverse the city from northside to south in only 15 minutes! You can’t beat that. I could also take you to the Edens, which will take me to Milwaukee OR I could take you to the Dan Ryan, which will take me to Michigan! OR even to 2910 to go visit my mom!
Thanks, Kennedy Expressway. You’re so helpful and you’re almost always the most convenient road on which to travel in the city.
Love,
Me

Misery loves company and if it’s anywhere close to peak travel time, just take comfort in the fact there are thousands of others who are as irritated as you probably are.
Adding to the tediousness of the drive, you’ll soon be paying a toll if your plan is to shoot out to Ohare or the NW burbs. Even better, along your (often times) snails pace trek, you get to look at Rod «Blowdry» Blago’s name plastered on the IPASS structure reminding you of how much disdain you hold for those in our corrupt City/​State gov’t and all its ineptness.
Good. Times.