Illinois Tollway Notes

[Beltway]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field

At various times.  By the year 2000, it was a general aviation airport with maybe a few helicopters.

The point was, that it had the capability to be a "Chicago Executive Airport"  and be a fairly busy airport for business jets and general aviation.

[abefroman329]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field

At various times.  By the year 2000, it was a general aviation airport with maybe a few helicopters.

The point was, that it had the capability to be a "Chicago Executive Airport"  and be a fairly busy airport for business jets and general aviation.

It had a 3900-foot runway; Pal-Waukee's is 1100 feet longer.  I'm not sure if business jets could land there even if they wanted to.  And, as I already mentioned, Meigs wasn't convenient for anyone heading to an office in the northern/western suburbs the way Pal-Waukee is.  Midway is just fine for anyone heading downtown, maybe even Gary.

[SEWIGuy]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

[Brandon]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field

At various times.  By the year 2000, it was a general aviation airport with maybe a few helicopters.

The point was, that it had the capability to be a "Chicago Executive Airport"  and be a fairly busy airport for business jets and general aviation.

Meigs was never big enough to be a "Chicago Executive Airport".  There was never room for any runway longer (as noted, the current Chicago Executive Airport has a runway 1,100 longer).  There was never any real room for parking larger planes on a consistent basis (as there is at the current Chicago Executive Airport or at the Lewis University Airport).  There was never any real room for proper facilities as there are at the current Chicago Executive Airport.

[Beltway]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

[Brandon]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.

You, sir, are the idiot.

[abefroman329]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

Meigs' single runway was north-south.  How would expanding to the east have helped?  And where would you have put the expanded facilities needed to service biz jets?  And what about the additional traffic coming to Meigs, that currently shares a two-lane road with people headed to the Aquarium, the Planetarium, and Bears games?

[Beltway]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.
You, sir, are the idiot.

The island was -built- with excavation fill.

You, sir, are a troll.

[Beltway]

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

Meigs' single runway was north-south.  How would expanding to the east have helped?  And where would you have put the expanded facilities needed to service biz jets?  And what about the additional traffic coming to Meigs, that currently shares a two-lane road with people headed to the Aquarium, the Planetarium, and Bears games?

A complaint was posted that they needed more room for service facilities.

I don't know why some want to defend the stupidity of the mayor that destroyed the airport in a manner that violated FAA regulations.

[SEWIGuy]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

Ridiculous. Wrong place for an airport and absolutely wrong to invest in larger facilities there. Outside of some airplane owners, do people really miss it?

The outrage was overblown then. It's really overblown now.

[Beltway]

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

Ridiculous. Wrong place for an airport and absolutely wrong to invest in larger facilities there. Outside of some airplane owners, do people really miss it?
The outrage was overblown then. It's really overblown now.

Whether it could be utilized as a full scale executive airport could be argued pro or con, as well as any expansion. 

Nevertheless there is ample history online that demonstrates that the airport had a variety of worthwhile usages throughout its history.

[SEWIGuy]

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

Ridiculous. Wrong place for an airport and absolutely wrong to invest in larger facilities there. Outside of some airplane owners, do people really miss it?
The outrage was overblown then. It's really overblown now.

Whether it could be utilized as a full scale executive airport could be argued pro or con, as well as any expansion. 

Nevertheless there is ample history online that demonstrates that the airport had a variety of worthwhile usages throughout its history.

Right.  But a limited use airport is not the highest and best use of the property.  It is better now than it used to be.

[Beltway]

Nevertheless there is ample history online that demonstrates that the airport had a variety of worthwhile usages throughout its history.

Right.  But a limited use airport is not the highest and best use of the property.  It is better now than it used to be.

That is like how some people say that a highway interchange is not the highest and best use of the property. 

It got substantial usage.  Most the island is still undeveloped.

Chicago has plenty of developable land, even within a mile or two of the downtown.

[mhking]

Ugh.  The conspirisheep at work ar just now saying that I-88 was named for hitler.

#FacePalm. Shoot me now.

[ET21]

Why don't you guys take the Meigs banter into it's own thread and stick with tollway news, especially considering the airport has been DEAD for 15 years now

[Brandon]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.
You, sir, are the idiot.

The island was -built- with excavation fill.

You, sir, are a troll.

The island was built with fill a very long time ago, pre-WWII.  There is no way on this planet, in this day and age, that fill would be allowed into the Lake.

You can go back to Virginia.

[ET21]

North side gets underway for 294:

Advance work will begin this week in the northern section of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project with initial construction scheduled between Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont and Wolf Road in Franklin Park as part of the Illinois Tollway's investment to increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve travel reliability.

Weather permitting, on Monday, June 18, the outside shoulders in both directions on I-294 between Rosemont and Franklin Park will be closed for repair work scheduled to last through June. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to the closures. All work is weather dependent.

When shoulder work is complete, traffic in both directions is scheduled to shift to the outside lanes and roadway work will begin between Balmoral Avenue and the O'Hare Oasis. The Tollway will maintain four lanes of traffic in both directions by shifting traffic to safely accommodate drivers and provide work zones during construction. Additional lane closures will be scheduled as needed during overnight and off-peak hours for construction.

Work to advance the Central Tri-State Tollway Project in the northern section includes repairing, resurfacing and widening I-294 to five lanes between Balmoral Avenue and Wolf Road in Franklin Park, as well as reconstructing barrier walls, medians and shoulders in this area.

As part of the work in this section, the bridges carrying I-294 over Irving Park Road, Lawrence Avenue and the Canadian National Railroad in Schiller Park will be repaired and portions of the ramps connecting Irving Park Road to I-294 will be reconstructed. Improvements as part of this project also include guardrail, drainage, lighting, signage and landscaping improvements.

[ChiMilNet]

North side gets underway for 294:

Advance work will begin this week in the northern section of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project with initial construction scheduled between Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont and Wolf Road in Franklin Park as part of the Illinois Tollway's investment to increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve travel reliability.

Weather permitting, on Monday, June 18, the outside shoulders in both directions on I-294 between Rosemont and Franklin Park will be closed for repair work scheduled to last through June. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to the closures. All work is weather dependent.

When shoulder work is complete, traffic in both directions is scheduled to shift to the outside lanes and roadway work will begin between Balmoral Avenue and the O'Hare Oasis. The Tollway will maintain four lanes of traffic in both directions by shifting traffic to safely accommodate drivers and provide work zones during construction. Additional lane closures will be scheduled as needed during overnight and off-peak hours for construction.

Work to advance the Central Tri-State Tollway Project in the northern section includes repairing, resurfacing and widening I-294 to five lanes between Balmoral Avenue and Wolf Road in Franklin Park, as well as reconstructing barrier walls, medians and shoulders in this area.

As part of the work in this section, the bridges carrying I-294 over Irving Park Road, Lawrence Avenue and the Canadian National Railroad in Schiller Park will be repaired and portions of the ramps connecting Irving Park Road to I-294 will be reconstructed. Improvements as part of this project also include guardrail, drainage, lighting, signage and landscaping improvements.

This will be a huge mess while underway, but a large section of I-294 North of here will see a big benefit once this is done. There are daily backups that go as far as Golf Road due to the merging traffic from the I-90/190 interchange in Rosemont. I'm glad that this stretch is among the first to get attention and needed improvements along the Central Tri-State.

[I-39]

North side gets underway for 294:

Advance work will begin this week in the northern section of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project with initial construction scheduled between Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont and Wolf Road in Franklin Park as part of the Illinois Tollway's investment to increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve travel reliability.

Weather permitting, on Monday, June 18, the outside shoulders in both directions on I-294 between Rosemont and Franklin Park will be closed for repair work scheduled to last through June. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to the closures. All work is weather dependent.

When shoulder work is complete, traffic in both directions is scheduled to shift to the outside lanes and roadway work will begin between Balmoral Avenue and the O'Hare Oasis. The Tollway will maintain four lanes of traffic in both directions by shifting traffic to safely accommodate drivers and provide work zones during construction. Additional lane closures will be scheduled as needed during overnight and off-peak hours for construction.

Work to advance the Central Tri-State Tollway Project in the northern section includes repairing, resurfacing and widening I-294 to five lanes between Balmoral Avenue and Wolf Road in Franklin Park, as well as reconstructing barrier walls, medians and shoulders in this area.

As part of the work in this section, the bridges carrying I-294 over Irving Park Road, Lawrence Avenue and the Canadian National Railroad in Schiller Park will be repaired and portions of the ramps connecting Irving Park Road to I-294 will be reconstructed. Improvements as part of this project also include guardrail, drainage, lighting, signage and landscaping improvements.

So are they only resurfacing the northern portion of the central Tri-State and not doing a full rebuild?

[edwaleni]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.
You, sir, are the idiot.

The island was -built- with excavation fill.

You, sir, are a troll.

The island was built with fill a very long time ago, pre-WWII.  There is no way on this planet, in this day and age, that fill would be allowed into the Lake.

You can go back to Virginia.

Most of US-41 (Lake Shore Drive) from Lincoln Park south to Hyde Park is built on landfill. Michigan Avenue used to reside right next to the lake shore until the Illinois Central came and built the railroad on piers to reach the former south bank of the Chicago River.

That was filled in later and became covered to what is now Millenium Park.

As far as I know the Tollways never had to resort to such large landfill activities. The Chicago Skyway did, but that was built by the city, not ISTHA.

Someone can correct me but ISTHA never "touched" the Chicago city limits ever except for 2 blocks east of OHare when I-294 goes over Lawrence Ave.

[Beltway]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.
You, sir, are the idiot.

The island was -built- with excavation fill.
You, sir, are a troll.

The island was built with fill a very long time ago, pre-WWII.  There is no way on this planet, in this day and age, that fill would be allowed into the Lake.
You can go back to Virginia.

You go back to m.t.r days, correct?  Then you may remember that I originally was from Chicago, and swam a number of times on the beach just south of that site.  So don't ass/u/me that I have no interest in the city.

[ET21]

North side gets underway for 294:

Advance work will begin this week in the northern section of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project with initial construction scheduled between Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont and Wolf Road in Franklin Park as part of the Illinois Tollway's investment to increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve travel reliability.

Weather permitting, on Monday, June 18, the outside shoulders in both directions on I-294 between Rosemont and Franklin Park will be closed for repair work scheduled to last through June. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to the closures. All work is weather dependent.

When shoulder work is complete, traffic in both directions is scheduled to shift to the outside lanes and roadway work will begin between Balmoral Avenue and the O'Hare Oasis. The Tollway will maintain four lanes of traffic in both directions by shifting traffic to safely accommodate drivers and provide work zones during construction. Additional lane closures will be scheduled as needed during overnight and off-peak hours for construction.

Work to advance the Central Tri-State Tollway Project in the northern section includes repairing, resurfacing and widening I-294 to five lanes between Balmoral Avenue and Wolf Road in Franklin Park, as well as reconstructing barrier walls, medians and shoulders in this area.

As part of the work in this section, the bridges carrying I-294 over Irving Park Road, Lawrence Avenue and the Canadian National Railroad in Schiller Park will be repaired and portions of the ramps connecting Irving Park Road to I-294 will be reconstructed. Improvements as part of this project also include guardrail, drainage, lighting, signage and landscaping improvements.

So are they only resurfacing the northern portion of the central Tri-State and not doing a full rebuild?

It's advance work ahead of the full rebuild, similar to how they started the I-90 expansion. Along with it, the O'Hare Oasis bridge is being torn down http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-ohare-oasis-tollway-expansion-met-20180622-story.html

[Henry]

You don't stick a general aviation airport along the lakefront of downtown Chicago.  The land is too valuable to be used for that purpose.  The city and the mayor had the right idea, but just executed it awfully. 

It was already there, since 1948.  Built on a manmade island, which could have been expanded to the east without impacting anything, and the aerial approaches were not over the city.  Daley was an idiot.

You serious?  You do know that the other states will get very pissed off if Chicago were to add landfill to Lake Michigan, which is governed by interstate compacts, some of which include Ontario.
You, sir, are the idiot.

The island was -built- with excavation fill.
You, sir, are a troll.

The island was built with fill a very long time ago, pre-WWII.  There is no way on this planet, in this day and age, that fill would be allowed into the Lake.
You can go back to Virginia.

You go back to m.t.r days, correct?  Then you may remember that I originally was from Chicago, and swam a number of times on the beach just south of that site.  So don't ass/u/me that I have no interest in the city.

I echo that sentiment. That would be like telling me to go back to Seattle, when it is already established that I was born and raised in the Windy City as well, and I get interested in the goings on there from time to time.

[abefroman329]

It's advance work ahead of the full rebuild, similar to how they started the I-90 expansion. Along with it, the O'Hare Oasis bridge is being torn down http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-ohare-oasis-tollway-expansion-met-20180622-story.html

As disappointing as this is, I suspect that, if the oases were making money hand over fist, they'd find a way to keep or rebuild them.  I personally have only set foot in one once in the past five years.

[Highway63]

I-88 is one lane in each direction from IL 47 to IL 251 for shoulder construction. If I had known this I wouldn't have done what I did the last day of a four-day trip. Absolutely brutal.

Also, construction at the Hillside Strangler made me miss the first toll booth.