During Road Rehab Projects, Chicago DOT Manages Urban Highway Traffic With A Zip
For the first time, Chicagos Dept. of Transportation has found a unique way to manipulate highway workzone space while also attempting to improve traffic flow for drivers outside the lines. Pleased with a device called a "moveable barrier," or "zipper wall," on its current restoration of South Lake Shore Drive, CDOT is using it again as it rebuilds the Chicago Skyway, a congested 7.8-mile-long overpass that connects drivers to the south of the city to and from Indiana.
Zipper-walls exist for temporary and permanent installations, allowing users to lift and shift several lane miles of concrete barricade in approximately one hour or less. Although the 18-year-old technology began to attract attention 10 years ago, its expensive cost and specialized application restricted it to high-profile, urban highway projects (ENR 3/2/92 p. 36). That still has not changed.