If it's possible, avoid northbound I-57 at least until next week, say IDOT officials. Ideally, drivers will find alternate routes for the summer.

The first major significant configuration changes are set for this weekend and early next week along the south end of the Dan Ryan Expressway reconstruction project.

Here's what to expect:

On Sunday the inbound Bishop Ford Freeway will reopen to its normal two-lane configuration from Cottage Grove Avenue to about 96th Street, where the Ford Freeway flows into the Dan Ryan.

Additionally, traffic along northbound I-57 will be reduced to one lane from Parnell Avenue (just east of Halsted St.) to approximately 96th Street, where I-57 meets the Dan Ryan. Expect that to last until autumn.

Then beginning Monday and continuing through early summer, traffic along the outbound Dan Ryan will be reduced to one lane from 95th to 99th streets where the outbound Ryan merges with the outbound Bishop Ford. Also, traffic along the outbound Bishop Ford will be reduced to two lanes from 99th Street to Martin Luther King Drive.