I-90 rebuilding and widening

[ChiMilNet]

It looks like the tollway delivered on its promise to have I-90 open to eight lanes between Elgin and O'Hare by end of year 2016 (and just within the nick of time). I drove the segment from I-294 to I-290 yesterday, and it was quite nice having that extra lane. The section just West of the Devon Ave. Toll Plaza is especially a welcome change with no more merging into just three lanes (along with that awkward shift that used to exist) from all the toll lanes, etc. In fact, the tollway did a very smart thing by keeping an auxiliary lane open to the oasis. I get the feeling traffic will flow much better through here now. Yeah, extra tolls at the new ramps (and one or two of the existing ones) are a bit of a drawback. However, overall, I think it is worth it, and it's rather amazing how much more modern I-90 is now (it really needed an upgrade and face-lift).

[JREwing78]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

[quickshade]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

The tollway increased the speed limit from Rockford to the Elgin toll plaza up to 65 MPH. Once major construction finishes up in the spring they will check traffic data on the newly completed section and make changes based on the new data. I believe they have said they want to make it 65 up to the 53/290 interchange and then 60 the rest of the way. But we shall see once they get enough data.

[johndoe780]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

The tollway increased the speed limit from Rockford to the Elgin toll plaza up to 65 MPH. Once major construction finishes up in the spring they will check traffic data on the newly completed section and make changes based on the new data. I believe they have said they want to make it 65 up to the 53/290 interchange and then 60 the rest of the way. But we shall see once they get enough data.

Shouldn't it be 70 from Rockford to Elgin?

[quickshade]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

The tollway increased the speed limit from Rockford to the Elgin toll plaza up to 65 MPH. Once major construction finishes up in the spring they will check traffic data on the newly completed section and make changes based on the new data. I believe they have said they want to make it 65 up to the 53/290 interchange and then 60 the rest of the way. But we shall see once they get enough data.

Shouldn't it be 70 from Rockford to Elgin?

Personally I think it should be 75. 55 in inclement weather situations. But thats just how I would do it. I know the concern was that after Huntley traffic tends to increase a bit more and you have more interchanges so you need a lower speed limit.

[JREwing78]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

I believe they have said they want to make it 65 up to the 53/290 interchange and then 60 the rest of the way. But we shall see once they get enough data.

70 from Rockford to Elgin should be a given, as it's easily the best stretch of highway in the entire state. They're at least not heavily enforcing the currently posted 65, but it's kinda ridiculous to go from 70 from the Wisconsin line (which has lighting only at the tollbooth and interchanges) to 65 on the Rockford to Elgin stretch (which has excellent lighting).

I will say - with the vast majority of construction between Rockford and 53/290 completed, it's a much smoother and quicker ride. The Rockford to Elgin construction easily added a half-hour to my trips to Michigan, where I either had to choose 40+ miles of white-knuckle driving or dropping south to 88.

[quickshade]

Having it posted for 55 is really annoying. Was 60 that big of a stretch?

I believe they have said they want to make it 65 up to the 53/290 interchange and then 60 the rest of the way. But we shall see once they get enough data.

70 from Rockford to Elgin should be a given, as it's easily the best stretch of highway in the entire state. They're at least not heavily enforcing the currently posted 65, but it's kinda ridiculous to go from 70 from the Wisconsin line (which has lighting only at the tollbooth and interchanges) to 65 on the Rockford to Elgin stretch (which has excellent lighting).

I will say - with the vast majority of construction between Rockford and 53/290 completed, it's a much smoother and quicker ride. The Rockford to Elgin construction easily added a half-hour to my trips to Michigan, where I either had to choose 40+ miles of white-knuckle driving or dropping south to 88.

I'd like to know how much time you save now compared to pre-construction.

[JREwing78]

I'd like to know how much time you save now compared to pre-construction.

Hard to say - my trips to Michigan were less frequent prior to the construction.

[GeekJedi]

Is it sad that I look at this pic and immediately notice I-90 between Chicago and Rockford? 

[tribar]

Is it sad that I look at this pic and immediately notice I-90 between Chicago and Rockford? 

I love how it ends at I-39.  The tollway couldn't be bothered to light the remaining stretch?

[SSOWorld]

That section was already rebuilt when the decision was made to put the continuous lighting I believe.  It has a good section of lighting around Rockford and along interchanges, but is unlit otherwise. Personally, the lighting on the E-W portion is highly unnecessary.

[ChiMilNet]

Is it sad that I look at this pic and immediately notice I-90 between Chicago and Rockford? 

First of all, where did you get that pic? In general, that is awesome. That said, the lighting, being LED, is way more efficient than the older sodium vapor lighting, so it probably is a much lower expense to light the entire stretch. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually lit the portion from Rockford to the South Beloit Toll (and converted the remainder of the lighting to LED). I just noticed the other day that the last of the "down the middle" lighting seems to be active now.

I'd be curious to see where I-90 ranks in the list of continuously lit highways. When you consider the stretch beginning at the IL/IN border, up to Rockford, I-90 is continuously lit through that entire stretch now, with a notable portion of it quite rural. I bet the combination I-94/I-294 is not far behind (lit from IL/WI state line to I-65 in IN).

[dcharlie]

Personally, the lighting on the E-W portion is highly unnecessary.

I understand your thought here, but I frequently travel back from the Chicago area at night.  I used to take I-88 to I-39, but since the lighting has been installed, I feel much more secure on I-90 from not having to worry about deer jumping out and not being able to see them.  Have also driven it during a Snow Storm and was once again grateful that the lighting was there.

[I-39]

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually lit the portion from Rockford to the South Beloit Toll (and converted the remainder of the lighting to LED).

Most of that stretch is not lit at all, so it's not as easy as simply changing the bulbs. They'd have to install new light poles for almost the entire length, which would cost money. I agree they should do it, but I don't expect it to happen.

I really can't believe the tollway cut corners as much as they did when they redid the stretch between Rockford and South Beloit. Most of the bridges were not reconstructed (mainline and crossroad), they didn't use concrete (instead they used hot-mixed asphalt which is already coming undone) and they didn't put lights in the median. When compared to the newly reconstructed section between Rockford and O'Hare, the Rockford to South Beloit segment is horrendous.

At some point, they'll need to come back and reconstruct it properly (but that should by no means be high on the priority list).

[ChiMilNet]

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually lit the portion from Rockford to the South Beloit Toll (and converted the remainder of the lighting to LED).

Most of that stretch is not lit at all, so it's not as easy as simply changing the bulbs. They'd have to install new light poles for almost the entire length, which would cost money. I agree they should do it, but I don't expect it to happen.

I really can't believe the tollway cut corners as much as they did when they redid the stretch between Rockford and South Beloit. Most of the bridges were not reconstructed (mainline and crossroad), they didn't use concrete (instead they used hot-mixed asphalt which is already coming undone) and they didn't put lights in the median. When compared to the newly reconstructed section between Rockford and O'Hare, the Rockford to South Beloit segment is horrendous.

At some point, they'll need to come back and reconstruct it properly (but that should by no means be high on the priority list).

The corners they cut in that stretch will stick out much more now that the portion East of there is completely rebuilt with the lighting. At the time they rebuilt the stretch through Rockford, it was a welcome improvement, and the addition of the extra lanes through that stretch made a difference. That must have been nearly 8 years ago now, though, right? I was baffled by the decision at the time on the pavement, which I feel that should have at least been built as concrete, and no doubt that is why that section is coming apart. Overall, the tollway did seem to neglect rebuilding many of the overpasses on a few of the stretches when they did their original capital program, and there are other stretches where this is apparent (Northern portion of I-294 is notable for this too). It seems they might have learned their lesson on this most recent section off I-90.

The next priorities for I-90, though, after all of the interchanges are finished being built under the current program, needs to be a proper rebuild of the I-290/IL-53 interchange, and then a full depth rebuild of the Rockford to South Beloit portion.

One thing I noticed that I didn't seen mentioned is that it appears that the tollway installed a lot of the infrastructure to continue to smart road gantries in the future. Are there any plans within the next 5-10 years to extend that?

[Joe The Dragon]

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually lit the portion from Rockford to the South Beloit Toll (and converted the remainder of the lighting to LED).

Most of that stretch is not lit at all, so it's not as easy as simply changing the bulbs. They'd have to install new light poles for almost the entire length, which would cost money. I agree they should do it, but I don't expect it to happen.

I really can't believe the tollway cut corners as much as they did when they redid the stretch between Rockford and South Beloit. Most of the bridges were not reconstructed (mainline and crossroad), they didn't use concrete (instead they used hot-mixed asphalt which is already coming undone) and they didn't put lights in the median. When compared to the newly reconstructed section between Rockford and O'Hare, the Rockford to South Beloit segment is horrendous.

At some point, they'll need to come back and reconstruct it properly (but that should by no means be high on the priority list).

The corners they cut in that stretch will stick out much more now that the portion East of there is completely rebuilt with the lighting. At the time they rebuilt the stretch through Rockford, it was a welcome improvement, and the addition of the extra lanes through that stretch made a difference. That must have been nearly 8 years ago now, though, right? I was baffled by the decision at the time on the pavement, which I feel that should have at least been built as concrete, and no doubt that is why that section is coming apart. Overall, the tollway did seem to neglect rebuilding many of the overpasses on a few of the stretches when they did their original capital program, and there are other stretches where this is apparent (Northern portion of I-294 is notable for this too). It seems they might have learned their lesson on this most recent section off I-90.

The next priorities for I-90, though, after all of the interchanges are finished being built under the current program, needs to be a proper rebuild of the I-290/IL-53 interchange, and then a full depth rebuild of the Rockford to South Beloit portion.

One thing I noticed that I didn't seen mentioned is that it appears that the tollway installed a lot of the infrastructure to continue to smart road gantries in the future. Are there any plans within the next 5-10 years to extend that?

Likely all the way till Elgin toll. And central tri-state rebuild.

[Revive 755]

Per the following news article, it appears the new ramps to/from the west at Elmhurst Road are not opening for quite a while:
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_744e9a08-d843-11e6-8f18-27e7ce2fdf55.html

[quickshade]

Per the following news article, it appears the new ramps to/from the west at Elmhurst Road are not opening for quite a while:
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_744e9a08-d843-11e6-8f18-27e7ce2fdf55.html

Not a shock, the 2 heavy snows in the first 2 weeks of December along with the very cold in between cut a good chunk of time out of what they thought would be a productive month to finish some of the bigger ticket items up.

[Revive 755]

That section was already rebuilt when the decision was made to put the continuous lighting I believe.  It has a good section of lighting around Rockford and along interchanges, but is unlit otherwise. Personally, the lighting on the E-W portion is highly unnecessary.

On the bright side (hey a pun), the lighting might make it easier to spot a cop on that section after dark.  Recent trip had two cops in the median watching WB traffic and one for EB between I-39 and IL 47.

[hobsini2]

On a side note, the Tollway has installed the LED white lights along I-88 from Highland Ave to York Rd, Quite the difference at night.

[johndoe780]

On a side note, the Tollway has installed the LED white lights along I-88 from Highland Ave to York Rd, Quite the difference at night.

Why does it look so different compared to the LED lighting on 390 or 90?

[ILRoad55]

On a side note, the Tollway has installed the LED white lights along I-88 from Highland Ave to York Rd, Quite the difference at night.

Why does it look so different compared to the LED lighting on 390 or 90?

Yea there's certainly is a difference. Not sure if its brightness or not but either way my eyes do not like the LED lighting.

[tribar]

Does anyone when the ATM's on I 90 will be turned on? 

[Revive 755]

Does anyone when the ATM's on I 90 will be turned on?

Supposedly sometime this spring, per this handout.

[skluth]

Does anyone when the ATM's on I 90 will be turned on?

Supposedly sometime this spring, per this handout.

They need a different acronym. I thought you were talking about a new way for Illinois Tollways to get my money when I pass through the state.