Among the Chicago transportation initiatives that the IOC highlighted in its Sept. 2 evaluation is an extensive “Olympic lane” highway system that would move everyday local traffic to what the Chicago 2016 committee called 2,392 miles of city roads.
The Chicago 2016 Bid Book cites the Dan Ryan reconstruction project as an example of what an Olympic Lane system might look like.
“This system has been successfully employed during several different construction projects,” the Bid Book states. “Most recently, during the reconstruction of the Dan Ryan Expressway, a primary north-south eight-lane motorway, more than 100,000 motorists were efficiently rerouted onto the city’s grid each day.”
The plan would be for all vehicles used to transport athletes, delegates and other officials to use dedicated Olympic Lanes, which would provide a “high-level of service” for those traveling from airports to the downtown area and from the downtown area to the additional venues.
About 106 miles of partially-dedicated or fully-dedicated Olympic Lanes would be in place along the Jane Addams Tollway, the Stevenson Expressway, the Tri-State Tollway and Lake Shore Drive.
It is Lake Shore Drive – especially the stretch from Wacker Drive to south of the Stevenson – that is identified as the backbone of Chicago 2016’s Olympic transportation plan.
You can read the IOC’s Evaluation of Potential Host Cities here.
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