Interstate 355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) opens to traffic on Monday November 12, 2007 between Interstates 80 and 55. The 12.5-mile freeway was built in three years after more than 10 years of delays caused by legal and funding issues. The 2005 toll increases throughout the Illinois Tollway network helped pay for completion of the $738 million route that includes a 1.25-mile Des Plaines River Valley bridge, the second longest span in the state. No extension southward is on the books at this time, but long range plans hint at a connection to the planned Illiana Expressway corridor.
New Interstate 355 will be open to bicyclists and walkers during a Veterans Day celebration to mark the completion of the roadway. 9,000 people are expected to attend.
Looking north on the new Interstate 355 at its beginning from Interstate 80. The original North-South Tollway opened in 1989. Photo taken by Bill Burmaster (11/13/07).
Meanwhile in North Carolina, sign crews will begin installing red, white, and blue Interstate 795 signs throughout the 20-mile plus route approved by AASHTO this fall. Interstate 795 replaces U.S. 117 on a freeway northward from U.S. 70 at Goldsboro to U.S. 264 at Wilson and joins U.S. 264 west to Interstate 95. U.S. 117 signs along the north-south freeway will be moved onto the original U.S. 117 alignment in the process. Signing of the newest Interstate should be completed by Spring 2008.
Sources:
1 – “I-355 extension will open Nov. 12.” DailySouthtown, November 2, 2007.
2 – “NCDOT TO BEGIN INSTALLING I-795 SIGNS IN WAYNE, WILSON COUNTIES.” NCDOT, November 7, 2007.
