Illinois Tollway Notes

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/long-term-ramp-closure-starts-this-week-for-central-tri-state-project/

The ramp from I-294 SB (Tri-State) to I-290 WB (Eisenhower) will close starting tomorrow night (October 21st) at 8 pm for ramp and pavement reconstruction, and it won't reopen until sometime in November.

Traffic will be directed to continue southbound on I-294 to eastbound on I-290. Drivers will then exit at Mannheim Road and flip around to access westbound I-290.

[US20IL64]

http://www.highwayhost.org/Illinois/IllinoisTollway/tollway1.html
Vintage photos of the original Howard Johnson Restaurants at the Oasis that now are food courts for Tollway Travelers.

Before Ho Jo's, the Oases had Fred Harvey restaurants.

https://news.wttw.com/2015/10/28/ask-geoffrey-oct-28

[ET21]

Few new updates I noticed when driving 294 yesterday

-We're on new pavement (well concrete) now from 95th to the 83rd street toll plaza northbound. The two right lanes are new while the two left lanes remain from the original split. They have begun to dig out and rebuild the center northbound lanes.

-Mile long bridge going on as usual, new beams continue to be added for the southbound bridge. Archer/LaGrange/79th/88th Ave work continues.

-The new I-55 ramp bridge structures are almost done, new bridge structures are also up for Plainfield Road. No new beams yet on either.

-The old Hinsdale Oasis signs are now gone and southbound was replaced with a I-55 exit sign, the first I noticed of which has noted the Obama Expy tag.

-BNSF bridge work continues, nothing new.

-The N294 to W290 ramp has begun to lay the foundation work for the new ramp. St. Charles Road reconstruction continues, and new bridges are being built over North Ave for the southbound lanes.

-Ramp towers continue to go up for the new 490 interchange. Least two are now done with a third almost topping out soon.

-New signage is now up going southbound approaching Irving Park. It is now a double exit for both Irving Park and the O'Hare Oasis remnants (7-11). A 5-1/2 mile 290 west Rockford sign is also up with the new Irving sign. They have also replaced the older tollway signs with more modern ones showing (Pay Online). 

[NWI_Irish96]

-The N294 to W290 ramp has begun to lay the foundation work for the new ramp. St. Charles Road reconstruction continues, and new bridges are being built over North Ave for the southbound lanes.

Is the new ramp going to eliminate/reduce the immense bottleneck that the old ramp causes? Even at 7am on a weekend morning you crawl along at 5mph for a couple minutes trying to make that movement.

[CtrlAltDel]

-The N294 to W290 ramp has begun to lay the foundation work for the new ramp. St. Charles Road reconstruction continues, and new bridges are being built over North Ave for the southbound lanes.

Is the new ramp going to eliminate/reduce the immense bottleneck that the old ramp causes? Even at 7am on a weekend morning you crawl along at 5mph for a couple minutes trying to make that movement.

We're gonna find out. 

[US20IL64]

-The N294 to W290 ramp has begun to lay the foundation work for the new ramp. St. Charles Road reconstruction continues, and new bridges are being built over North Ave for the southbound lanes.

Is the new ramp going to eliminate/reduce the immense bottleneck that the old ramp causes? Even at 7am on a weekend morning you crawl along at 5mph for a couple minutes trying to make that movement.

We're gonna find out. 

On the Tollway site is a link to You Tube animated video showing that new ramp will go under 294 to 290 West. The old 20 MPH signed cloverleaf is going 'bye bye'. Can't wait till it's done, 

[US20IL64]

" -Mile long bridge going on as usual, new beams continue to be added for the southbound bridge. Archer/LaGrange/79th/88th Ave work continues."

Wasn't Mile-Long rebuilt in 1993-4? I know it was needed to be widened, but amazed how fast time went since 4 lanes put in.

"-The new I-55 ramp bridge structures are almost done, new bridge structures are also up for Plainfield Road. No new beams yet on either."

Since I-55 was built in the 60's, this ramp bridge has been rebuilt twice. Around 1979-80 and 1993-4 widen project. 3rd time.
Original bridge was only one lane! 

[hobsini2]

-The N294 to W290 ramp has begun to lay the foundation work for the new ramp. St. Charles Road reconstruction continues, and new bridges are being built over North Ave for the southbound lanes.

Is the new ramp going to eliminate/reduce the immense bottleneck that the old ramp causes? Even at 7am on a weekend morning you crawl along at 5mph for a couple minutes trying to make that movement.

In theory, yes.

[ILRoad55]

-BNSF bridge work continues, nothing new.

From a weekly Metra rider, the new bridge now has tracks laid on it. They've got one of the tracks connected to the main line at one end so far. Not that this affects drivers in any way, but I thought I'd share.

Gonna estimate that trains will be running on the new bridge by the end of the year.

[I-39]

Whatever happened to the proposed I-90 Lee Street eastbound exit ramp? Is it stuck in Limbo?

[US20IL64]

There is an eastbound exit at Elmhurst Rd at least. Maybe waiting for completion of 490.

[ET21]

Not as many changes as last time but noticed some more stuff for the Tri-State

-Southbound lanes now have a split between LaGrange Rd and 88th Ave. Northbound remains split from before 95th to the 83rd plaza. Both sections have new concrete curing in the center.

-Bridge beams continue to go up for the southbound Mile Long section. Beams are also in place over LaGrange Rd fully.

-New beams/concrete curing from Plainfield Rd to 75th street including over I-55. We should hopefully be rid of that very tight 3 lane section by the summer with a more traditional wide split for construction of the center sections.

-Plainfield Rd bridge has new beams up for the eastbound lanes. No major changes to the Oasis, BNSF bridge, or by Odgen as of yet.

-NB 294 to WB 290 ramps continue to be built, St. Charles Road section continuing to be built with the new bridge almost fully completed. 290 stuff still looks to be ongoing.

-New concrete and beam placement over North Ave and from the new 490 interchange to St. Charles for SB lanes. New lanes have been poured southbound for the eventual ramps to 490.

-No major changes from Wolf Rd to O'Hare Oasis. Work continues in the southbound lanes with the left lane express continuing.

-Irving Park and northward into Rosemont is pretty much done, not sure if they need to replace the pavement on the rail bridge section just south of Balmoral.

[CtrlAltDel]

-NB 294 to WB 290 ramps continue to be built, St. Charles Road section continuing to be built with the new bridge almost fully completed. 290 stuff still looks to be ongoing.

I drove over both Saint Charles Road bridges today, and I don't know if I'd agree that they're almost completed. They're definitely well on their way though. My mother is impressed that the new bridges will be, it appears, considerably wider than the previous ones. I was impressed with the new lighting through the interchange, in particular the ramps on the east side of the 290 interchange. The lighting is much brighter (presumably LED), and on regular poles and not high ones.

[US20IL64]

I'll be glad when the notorious exit ramps, I-290 to I-294/88, and I-294's 20 mph [more like 3 mph] cloverleaf to I-290 are replaced. They back up for miles in peak times.

[ET21]

-NB 294 to WB 290 ramps continue to be built, St. Charles Road section continuing to be built with the new bridge almost fully completed. 290 stuff still looks to be ongoing.

I drove over both Saint Charles Road bridges today, and I don't know if I'd agree that they're almost completed. They're definitely well on their way though. My mother is impressed that the new bridges will be, it appears, considerably wider than the previous ones. I was impressed with the new lighting through the interchange, in particular the ramps on the east side of the 290 interchange. The lighting is much brighter (presumably LED), and on regular poles and not high ones.

Yes I realized that when I went under it yesterday going to Thanksgiving dinner lol. The north side of the bridge is complete, the south end is almost ready for beams

[Revive 755]

Article in the Daily Herald today mentioned a couple contracts the Tollway approved:

* A new message board for "westbound I-90 near River Road", along with guide sign replacement.

* Another contract for ramp queue warnings at multiple locations, with priority locations on I-90 being at "Route 39, Route 53 and the Lee Street vicinity".

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2022/02/07/take-a-survey-to-weigh-in-on-paces-proposed-tri-state-tollway-express-services/

There is a survey going on the PACE's proposed Tri-State Tollway express bus services.

[ET21]

Stuff I noticed since last update this past Friday

-No major changes from the eventual I-490 JCT to O'Hare Oasis. The southbound express lane is now shifted to just before Wolf Rd.

-Southbound I-294 to westbound I-290 has a new ramp opened with lighting already turned on. Otherwise no changes between St. Charles Rd and Lake St. Bridge construction continues for St. Charles Rd.

-Northbound I-294 to I-290 will eventually have a major shift sometime in the next few weeks, new lanes have been built.

-Some lane shifts between Ogden Ave and I-88 in both directions, looks like prepping for eventual shifts.

-No major changes by the BNSF bridge, it looks almost ready, mostly track work at this point.

-A big shift between 75th St and I-55. Both north/southbound lanes are back to 4 lanes and southbound is on new pavement. Middle sections are now being torn up. The new I-55 ramp bridge to northbound 294 is waiting for the steel beams. Plainfield Rd bridge continues construction.

-Mile long bridge construction continues, no major changes.

-No major changes between LaGrange and 95th St, but something they do need to update is the street lines on the southbound section. Paint has been scratched up by the plows and covered with salt dust. At one point, the far right lane merges back left and becomes a short shoulder before then going back right for the 95th exit. Have seen probably 5 close calls here approaching the ramps.

[US20IL64]

I like the new ramp from SB 294 to WB 290, more pavement to merge onto 290, and for now, some length breaking away from 294. The curve is somewhat larger too, can go a bit quicker on it to help match 290 traffic speed for merging, too. 

Old stub ramp bridge still there to be demolished later.

[ILRoad55]

-No major changes by the BNSF bridge, it looks almost ready, mostly track work at this point.

Thanks for the updates.

As far as the BNSF bridge goes, it's complete. All 3 tracks are in use on the new bridge so trains no longer use the temporary bridge. This happened sometime in early to mid January.

It's been a while since I took the train downtown, but I know there was a single track left still on the temporary bridge that had some equipment on it. There's another project going on as well. A new pedestrian underpass is being built on the east side of the tollway at around Prospect Ave. Besides that, I'd imagine in the next couple months, they'll start taking down the temporary bridge?

[ET21]

-No major changes by the BNSF bridge, it looks almost ready, mostly track work at this point.

Thanks for the updates.

As far as the BNSF bridge goes, it's complete. All 3 tracks are in use on the new bridge so trains no longer use the temporary bridge. This happened sometime in early to mid January.

It's been a while since I took the train downtown, but I know there was a single track left still on the temporary bridge that had some equipment on it. There's another project going on as well. A new pedestrian underpass is being built on the east side of the tollway at around Prospect Ave. Besides that, I'd imagine in the next couple months, they'll start taking down the temporary bridge?

The temp bridge is down over 294, only the median support beam remains

[ET21]

Couple update notes:

-I-294 southbound is on new concrete from Wolf Rd to the I-290 westbound ramp, express lane remains but I expect that to be altered over the next few weeks.

-I-294 northbound to I-290 has a split right after entering the ramp. Right lane is east, left lane goes to the westbound circle ramp. Has caused very nasty backups and a few crashes since being implemented about 10 days ago.

[ET21]

Few more Tri-State notes

-Minor split on NB 294 between the 83rd Toll and LaGrange Road while they continue work on the new NB lanes, the 88th Ave bridge, and the center median.

-SB 294 from Hinsdale Oasis to Willow Springs Rd is now 3 lanes again. Approaching I-55, the 2 right lanes are exit only for the I-55 exit. You regain a left lane after I-55 to go back to 4 lanes.

-The express lane has been trimmed and reworked between St. Charles Rd & the O'Hare Oasis. Southbound now has the express lane from just before the I-290 West exit to St. Charles now, northbound now has it from Wolf Rd to the O'Hare Oasis.

[ET21]

Tri-State updates

-With the closure of the I-55 south/Wolf Rd ramp on NB 294, I-55 is now only one exit with the NB ramp. Remains 3 lanes from Willow Springs Rd to the Hinsdale Oasis.

-Steel beams have begun to go up for the new I-55 ramp to NB 294/Oasis.

-Hinsdale Oasis has begun its teardown.

[I-39]

When are they going to start demolishing the cash lane plazas systemwide?

Wasn't Mile-Long rebuilt in 1993-4? I know it was needed to be widened, but amazed how fast time went since 4 lanes put in.

I believe it was merely widened during the early 90s central Tri-State widening and that part of the old bridge was still the original. The current reconstruction project replaces the entire thing.