Nice Highway Fata$$

We figure the state is mostly to blame for this continued disaster:

• The delays associated with the Kennedy Expressway construction project aren’t over.

  The Illinois Department of Transportation said Friday afternoon that problems with the new automated gates have forced the closure of the ramp from the Ontario Street feeder ramp onto the outbound Kennedy Expressway reversible lanes.

  The closure is indefinite.

Remember when we pointed out the express lanes were being used as a "private highway" for VIPs during the Kamalalalala Convention? It seems that ended up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and untold man-hours, including a automated gate system that doesn't work:

• While the convention lasted only a week in August, the contractor said IDOT’s order to remove all equipment from the roadway delayed the project by 32 days.

  “JBCC was directed to cease all activity and remove all materials and equipment from the reversible, outbound and inbound lanes,” reads an August 28th memo from the contractor. “JBCC was not allowed to work on any activities during this time.”

  The contractor also claims IDOT significantly expanded the scope of the project beyond the original contract, adding a total of 113 days and $318,000 to the timeline and cost. The changes included a 200% increase in power cable as well as delays caused by additional work added to the inbound lanes of the Kennedy expressway, according to the memo.

Oh, and they've been lying about the delays the entire time. And since it was the state that ordered the lanes be opened as a private highway, they're not going to try to collect the $10,000 per day fines that would have been levied against the general contracts for missing the deadlines, costing taxpayers even more money.