Alternate routes to avoid Dan Ryan Expressway lane closure

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The lane closure on the inbound Dan Ryan at 95th Street is a result of the CTA'Ss new Red Line station that is under construction. Crews closed the left lane Tuesday night so they have room to work on the building foundation.

Wednesday morning was the first rush hour with that closure in place, and it caught a lot of drivers off-guard! Backups on I-57 started as early as 5 a.m., and during the peak of the morning commute, delays extended back to The tri-State with a 50-minute travel time from I-80 to 95th Street.

Since this is going to be in place for a while, Roz Varon shared some alternate choice to avoid those huge delays.

You can always take the Bishop Ford, but that tends to back up too! So, coming in from the south suburbs, you can try the combination of Dixie Highway into Vincennes Road, north to 95th Street and then east to the Dan Ryan.

Another route would be Indiana Avenue to Michigan Avenue around the curve at 130th. Continue north to 95th and head west to access the Ryan.

The 95th street terminal on the CTA's Red Line is a massive $280 million dollar project, completely rebuilding the station, as these artist renderings illustrate. The south terminal is scheduled for completion in 2017, the north terminal will be ready in 2018.

This initial lane closure on the inbound Ryan is scheduled to be in place until Thanksgiving, weather permitting. But crews will resume construction, with lane closures in the spring of 2017.