Illinois Tollway Notes

[ChiMilNet]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

[edwaleni]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

I assumed they were waiting on WisDOT to finish on their side of the state line.

https://projects.511wi.gov/i-39-90/

[I-39]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

Another question is when is IDOT going to finally rebuild/widen I-39/US 20 between I-90 and the I-39/US 20 split off? They've been talking about for years redoing that interchange and six laning in between.

[SSOWorld]

The changeover to LED is slow but happening on the South Beloit to Cherry Valley portion.  That portion was rebuilt almost a decade ago (not sure exactly when...).  This and the western portion of I-88 get forgotten since they're farther away from Chicago.

[ChiMilNet]

The changeover to LED is slow but happening on the South Beloit to Cherry Valley portion.  That portion was rebuilt almost a decade ago (not sure exactly when...).  This and the western portion of I-88 get forgotten since they're farther away from Chicago.

Actually, the Western I-88 portion has been fully upgraded with new LED lighting (new light poles and everything). The I-90 Far North portion is the most curious to me, partly based on the I-88 portion, which is much lower traffic. I think the I-90 Cherry Valley to South Beloit rebuild was done in 2008/09 or thereabouts. Mainly, it really seemed to be more an overlay with an additional lane slapped in the middle. One new interchange was added during this time as well.

[ChiMilNet]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

Another question is when is IDOT going to finally rebuild/widen I-39/US 20 between I-90 and the I-39/US 20 split off? They've been talking about for years redoing that interchange and six laning in between.

It actually was quite apparent to me the amount of traffic that goes that way, just by how much I saw "split off" at the Cherry Valley interchange. The section through Rockford definitely needs a widening, and I almost wonder how long term the truck traffic will impact the need to widen (although I'd give other "downstate" Interstates priority first, such as I-80 and I-55).

[ChiMilNet]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

I assumed they were waiting on WisDOT to finish on their side of the state line.

https://projects.511wi.gov/i-39-90/

I will say, once WI is done, which looks like they are getting close... it does appear this might highlight the need for the Tollway to give South Beloit to Cherry Valley a little facelift, if you will.

[edwaleni]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

I assumed they were waiting on WisDOT to finish on their side of the state line.

https://projects.511wi.gov/i-39-90/

I will say, once WI is done, which looks like they are getting close... it does appear this might highlight the need for the Tollway to give South Beloit to Cherry Valley a little facelift, if you will.

I checked the ISTHA site and it only makes reference to IDOT work in District 2.

I also looked at the current ISHTA capital plan and nothing was listed for this space.

Under the reference of the "Move Illinois" capital plan, it was noted that IDOT is working ISTHA on a plan to update the Jane Addams from I-39 to O'Hare to improve mobility, but nothing beyond that.

[JoePCool14]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

[cwm1276]

Drove up to WI on I-90 through Rockford this weekend, and I have a few observations about the Northern section near Rockford and North:
-I am noticing that the stretch North of the I-39 merge seems to be in a bit of a need of a resurfacing.
-The portion from Rockford and North seems to be one of the last stretches of tollway outside of the Central I-294 portion where lighting remains that hasn't been upgraded to LED.
-It is a little odd to have the continuous lighting down I-90 and then, as you reach Rockford, have it abruptly end. I drove this during the day, but that would be strange at night (given it would stop anyways once you reach the IDOT portion North of the South Beloit toll plaza).
-As with I-94 in Northern Lake County, it's always easy for me to tell where the Tollway section ends just South of the State Line. It is rather curious that the Tollway maintenance doesn't continue up to the State Line in both cases.
-Many of the overpasses seem to still be original tollway construction, so I wonder if these will be needing replacement sooner than later.

Overall, the portion from Rockford North really is looking a little dated now that the remainder has been completely rebuilt. I know it'd be a big project, but I wonder if the Tollway might consider this stretch in its next infrastructure program.

I assumed they were waiting on WisDOT to finish on their side of the state line.

https://projects.511wi.gov/i-39-90/

I will say, once WI is done, which looks like they are getting close... it does appear this might highlight the need for the Tollway to give South Beloit to Cherry Valley a little facelift, if you will.

I checked the ISTHA site and it only makes reference to IDOT work in District 2.

I also looked at the current ISHTA capital plan and nothing was listed for this space.

Under the reference of the "Move Illinois" capital plan, it was noted that IDOT is working ISTHA on a plan to update the Jane Addams from I-39 to O'Hare to improve mobility, but nothing beyond that.

The I39/US 20 expansion did make the Multi-year plan.  https://idot.illinois.gov/Assets/uploads/files/Transportation-System/Reports/OP&P/HIP/2022-2027/2022-2027%20Project%20Information.pdf

To bad the study originally planned construction in 2015, it will be more like 2030.

[Crash_It]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

Must have a bad memory, I drove it in June and it was relatively smooth.

[Revive 755]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

There's already three lanes on I-90 between I-39 and the Wisconsin border.  Unless I'm going through at the wrong times that stretch doesn't particularly seem to need a fourth lane.

Under the reference of the "Move Illinois" capital plan, it was noted that IDOT is working ISTHA on a plan to update the Jane Addams from I-39 to O'Hare to improve mobility, but nothing beyond that.

That rebuild has been done for a few years.

[JREwing78]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

They've made some timely patches since you last drove it; that's largely addressed the problems for now. I'm actually quite impressed at how well the asphalt has held up since the widening was completed in 2009; it's only been in the past year or two that the potholes have shown up.

I would expect in 2024-2025 that ISTHA will mill and overlay the entire stretch. If they're going to light the tollway up to the tollbooths at Exit 3, that would be the time to do it. It would also be a good time to widen the bridge over Bus US-20/State St and extend the 4th lane up to that exit, to give thru traffic a bit more time to merge down to 3 lanes northbound and a bit more time southbound to position themselves for the split at I-39/US-20.

That will hold it until about 2040, when ISTHA will likely need to replace/widen bridges and overpasses. At that point it will make sense to add that 4th lane up to at least IL 173. I would also expect full-depth pavement replacement with concrete then. If WisDOT ends up adding a 4th lane to I-39/90 north of the state line, IDOT and ISTHA will probably follow suit to maintain continuity. It will make little sense to extend the widening past IL-173 before WisDOT does on its side.

The IDOT stretch north of Rockton Rd was completed in 2016 as WisDOT ramped up the 6/8 laning of I-39/90 north of the state line, and is fine aside from a really nasty southbound exit ramp at IL-75/US-51 that was inexplicably missed during the rest of the roadwork. I'm also surprised it wasn't addressed when WisDOT finished the 6-laning down to the border.

[CtrlAltDel]

I am currently dogsitting in my old home town, near the infamous loop ramp from I-294 to I-290. They are pounding I-beams or something similar into the ground. The noise is most impressive if also most annoying.

ETA: Also amazing to me is how the cars and trucks never stop. There is someone coming down that ramp at every minute of every day one after another, unceasingly.

Would you rather they not work on them?

No. I'm not someone who thinks that every element of a project must be pleasant in order to support it or to find it worthwhile.

These must be the pilings for new bridges, abutments, and/or retaining walls. They are usually driven by a rig with a drop hammer that makes the noise on contact with the piling. When the piling is to a point where there is little to no movement with each drop, within a recommended specification, it is considered to be stabilized and the crew moves on to the next location. There are other methods that accomplish the task with less noise such as vibratory placement or drilled shaft foundations, but they are more expensive and not always suited for the underground conditions.

The nice thing about H-piles is that it is possible to add on to their length if needed during driving, and they are easy to cut off if there is any excess length on top after the pile is driven.

I'm sure that's exactly what they're doing. Something similar was done a few weeks ago on Butterfield Road. That bridge will be about 350 feet wide when all is said and done, which I find absolutely amazing.

[hobsini2]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

Must have a bad memory, I drove it in June and it was relatively smooth.

Smooth is I-88 in Oak Brook. That stretch north of Rockford has road buckling in the asphalt. But then again, you were the same guy who told me in June that the US 20 portion of the Rockford Bypass was not in bad shape and you insisted I was wrong despite driving on it THAT weekend.

[JoePCool14]

The North fork of I-90 is indeed in poor shape. I remember driving it a few months ago and it was not great. Resurfacing would be the baseline. An extra lane would be the cherry on top.

They've made some timely patches since you last drove it; that's largely addressed the problems for now. I'm actually quite impressed at how well the asphalt has held up since the widening was completed in 2009; it's only been in the past year or two that the potholes have shown up.

I would expect in 2024-2025 that ISTHA will mill and overlay the entire stretch. If they're going to light the tollway up to the tollbooths at Exit 3, that would be the time to do it. It would also be a good time to widen the bridge over Bus US-20/State St and extend the 4th lane up to that exit, to give thru traffic a bit more time to merge down to 3 lanes northbound and a bit more time southbound to position themselves for the split at I-39/US-20.

That will hold it until about 2040, when ISTHA will likely need to replace/widen bridges and overpasses. At that point it will make sense to add that 4th lane up to at least IL 173. I would also expect full-depth pavement replacement with concrete then. If WisDOT ends up adding a 4th lane to I-39/90 north of the state line, IDOT and ISTHA will probably follow suit to maintain continuity. It will make little sense to extend the widening past IL-173 before WisDOT does on its side.

The IDOT stretch north of Rockton Rd was completed in 2016 as WisDOT ramped up the 6/8 laning of I-39/90 north of the state line, and is fine aside from a really nasty southbound exit ramp at IL-75/US-51 that was inexplicably missed during the rest of the roadwork. I'm also surprised it wasn't addressed when WisDOT finished the 6-laning down to the border.

They may have, and if so that's cool. I was up there in September. And maybe it doesn't need 8 lanes. I haven't driven it nearly enough to know that.

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

[Rick Powell]

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

This is the major I-39 work programmed by IDOT in District 2 in the FY 22-27 program:
I-39/U.S. 51/U.S. 20: $199.2 million for bridge replacement, reconstruction and additional lanes on 5.8 miles from Blackhawk Road to I-90, I-39 to Kishwaukee River and Bell School Road to I-39.

[I-39]

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

This is the major I-39 work programmed by IDOT in District 2 in the FY 22-27 program:
I-39/U.S. 51/U.S. 20: $199.2 million for bridge replacement, reconstruction and additional lanes on 5.8 miles from Blackhawk Road to I-90, I-39 to Kishwaukee River and Bell School Road to I-39.

But are they actually going to start the project in this time frame? It's been in previous multi year plans but has never come to fruition.

[ET21]

Noticed some new things on the Central Tri-State work.

The 490 interchange towers have begun to pop up as they slowly get constructed.
Mile long bridge continues at a brisk pace, looks like half of the concrete supports for the new northbound bridge are completed
Initial work has begun on rebuilding the 88th Ave ramp
Trucks are in place to begin demolishing the Plainfield Ave bridge

[ChiMilNet]

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

This is the major I-39 work programmed by IDOT in District 2 in the FY 22-27 program:
I-39/U.S. 51/U.S. 20: $199.2 million for bridge replacement, reconstruction and additional lanes on 5.8 miles from Blackhawk Road to I-90, I-39 to Kishwaukee River and Bell School Road to I-39.

But are they actually going to start the project in this time frame? It's been in previous multi year plans but has never come to fruition.

Honestly, this is one of those short stretches that would benefit from being transferred to ISTHA jurisdiction. This way we could be sure it would probably be done in a timely manner and correctly. Yeah, some Rockford and Cherry Valley residents might balk at the added tolls, but honestly, most people who use it probably are tollway bound or coming from the tollway anyway.

[JoePCool14]

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

This is the major I-39 work programmed by IDOT in District 2 in the FY 22-27 program:
I-39/U.S. 51/U.S. 20: $199.2 million for bridge replacement, reconstruction and additional lanes on 5.8 miles from Blackhawk Road to I-90, I-39 to Kishwaukee River and Bell School Road to I-39.

But are they actually going to start the project in this time frame? It's been in previous multi year plans but has never come to fruition.

Honestly, this is one of those short stretches that would benefit from being transferred to ISTHA jurisdiction. This way we could be sure it would probably be done in a timely manner and correctly. Yeah, some Rockford and Cherry Valley residents might balk at the added tolls, but honestly, most people who use it probably are tollway bound or coming from the tollway anyway.

It could be, but I'm not sure if I need the upgrade that badly. Rockford area regulars may feel differently. The saving grace of the section is that it's incredibly short. So even if the four lanes don't handle it very well, you only have to deal with it a few minutes before you're on open road again. And at the minimum, IDOT did resurface it, so it's a smooth ride.

[I-39]

The short I-39/US-20 concurrency, well I know a thing or two about how badly that needs more lanes. But that's not ISTHA's jurisdiction.

This is the major I-39 work programmed by IDOT in District 2 in the FY 22-27 program:
I-39/U.S. 51/U.S. 20: $199.2 million for bridge replacement, reconstruction and additional lanes on 5.8 miles from Blackhawk Road to I-90, I-39 to Kishwaukee River and Bell School Road to I-39.

But are they actually going to start the project in this time frame? It's been in previous multi year plans but has never come to fruition.

Honestly, this is one of those short stretches that would benefit from being transferred to ISTHA jurisdiction. This way we could be sure it would probably be done in a timely manner and correctly. Yeah, some Rockford and Cherry Valley residents might balk at the added tolls, but honestly, most people who use it probably are tollway bound or coming from the tollway anyway.

It could be, but I'm not sure if I need the upgrade that badly. Rockford area regulars may feel differently. The saving grace of the section is that it's incredibly short. So even if the four lanes don't handle it very well, you only have to deal with it a few minutes before you're on open road again. And at the minimum, IDOT did resurface it, so it's a smooth ride.

Yes, it is needed badly. The ramps from US 20 WB to I-39 SB are a single lane, narrow congestion plagued mess.

The ideal thing would be to reconfigure to have SB I-39 use through lanes and have US 20 WB exit instead, but that would cost a ton more money, so we have to take what we can get.

[The Ghostbuster]

Was Interstate 39/US 51 ever proposed to go north of the US 20 freeway? There are imprints in the land that suggest a SB-to-EB cloverleaf on-ramp and an EB-to-NB cloverleaf off-ramp were to have been constructed: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2190941,-89.0130634,856m/data=!3m1!1e3. Maybe 39/51 was to have proposed to go north of 20 into Rockford itself, and then meet the Interstate 39/90 Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (then the Interstate 90 Northwest Tollway) at a location further north of the existing Exit 17 connection.

[SEWIGuy]

Was Interstate 39/US 51 ever proposed to go north of the US 20 freeway? There are imprints in the land that suggest a SB-to-EB cloverleaf on-ramp and an EB-to-NB cloverleaf off-ramp were to have been constructed: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2190941,-89.0130634,856m/data=!3m1!1e3. Maybe 39/51 was to have proposed to go north of 20 into Rockford itself, and then meet the Interstate 39/90 Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (then the Interstate 90 Northwest Tollway) at a location further north of the existing Exit 17 connection.

If you look at historic aerials from the time it was under construction, there was some open ROW just north of the interchange at the time, but it didn't go very far.

[edwaleni]

Was Interstate 39/US 51 ever proposed to go north of the US 20 freeway? There are imprints in the land that suggest a SB-to-EB cloverleaf on-ramp and an EB-to-NB cloverleaf off-ramp were to have been constructed: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2190941,-89.0130634,856m/data=!3m1!1e3. Maybe 39/51 was to have proposed to go north of 20 into Rockford itself, and then meet the Interstate 39/90 Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (then the Interstate 90 Northwest Tollway) at a location further north of the existing Exit 17 connection.

If you look at historic aerials from the time it was under construction, there was some open ROW just north of the interchange at the time, but it didn't go very far.

I believe it was supposed to terminate at Charles Street originally, which at the time would have been on the east edge of the city limits. I think that part got deferred in 1974 along with a host of other statewide projects. I would imagine the ramp grading was put in with the idea it might get funded later and it didn't. It remained clear for a few years open to acquisition. I would have to check some City of Rockford records to confirm.