Illinois Tollway Notes

[The Ghostbuster]

I couldn't access the document on Microsoft Edge (it said "The connection for this site is not secure. www.illinoistollway.com sent an invalid response".; not the first site to do that to me), so I had to open it using Google Chrome (which I have on my computer in addition to having Opera). The presentation only includes the conversion of the US 20/W. Lake St. interchange to a diverging diamond, and 390's planned connection to County Farm Rd. It was my understanding that 390 would ultimately be extended as an arterial roadway to North Ave., along with improvements to US 20/W. Lake St. between that point and Shales Prwy./Elgin Bypass. I assume that the connection to County Farm Rd. would be built first, while the rest of it would be built later, if it is constucted at all.

[ChiMilNet]

https://www.illinoistollway.com/documents/20184/1291249/Meeting+Exhibits+-+PM2+-+10042022.pdf/4999c7dd-ada7-c362-7cb1-12533a58bc10?t=1665069112916

Here are the exhibits from the Illinois Route 390's U.S. Route 20 Interchange Improvement Study. A partial DDI, along with a one-lane each direction extension to County Farm Road, is recommended to move forward.

one lane? and is setup so they can extend the road at an later time?

No it looks like essentially a long on/off ramp. Going WB you either exit at US-20 or County Farm, EB you hop on at either County Farm or US-20. Plus it looks like they want you to get on EB 390 from County Farm as they eliminate the on ramp from EB US 20 to EB 390

There will be a ramp from EB US 20 to EB 390, and all alternatives keep this option. Honestly, as a current solution, I am OK with this, except I would have spent a little extra to have two lanes on the extension/ramps. It does look like they could potentially accommodate some type of extension down the line. It will come down more to appetite (and money) to build it further in any form. I am curious how usage of this will be impacted once the I-490 Tollway connection is complete. I know both any further extension of this and IL 53 seem either very dormant or dead in the water, but I guess never say never as potential conditions going on in both cases could resurrect these at some point. If nothing else, the State would be smart to not give up their land just yet.

[ilpt4u]

Living down in Southern IL, I don't get to drive the Tri-State much, anymore, but younger in life I lived in Chicagoland and drove it many times, especially south of 88. That said, seeing the Central Construction Project in progress is pretty neat

I drove NB 294 on Black Friday evening from the 80/94/294/394 "southpoint"  to the 290 WB exit, so thru a lot of the Central Construction Zone

Before getting there, tho, at the 80/294 split, there is now a floating "North"  with no Shield to the right of the North 294 Wisconsin info on the BGS at the split. I assume an I-57 shield will be added under the "North"  on the panel. I did not see a corresponding floating "South"  on the West 80 Iowa BGS, tho

The BGS for the new I-57 North exit is pretty standard and normal

In the construction zone, the old Cash lanes at the 83rd St Toll are completely closed now, but are still standing. Looked like the new Archer Ave bridge structures are up and the old ones are being taken down

After being on the new Mile Long Bridge, there is a traffic split where 2 left lanes are sent over to the NB side and 2 right lanes serve the I-55 interchange, and they merge back between the onramp from I-55 and the offramp to Hinsdale Oasis, which of course is now Hinsdale 7-Eleven/Mobil

There were segments of layed concrete pavement in this area for the NB lanes that still had the plastic "curing"  plastic blankets on, so, I'm guessing that was poured right before Thanksgiving

Nothing really eventful that I noticed next, until the 290 ramps. Drove it in the dark, so not the greatest look, but especially after merging onto 290, there is quite a bit of work done and you can see the new areas ready for the new fly-under ramps for 294 NB->290 WB under the new 294 SB lanes. Also at one point of 290 the 294 SB retaining wall is built right to the edge of the right WB 290 shoulder, which is kinda neat. Can also see the new, massive support piers for the new SB 294 CD road to help cut down the weaving traffic for the Exits and Entrances with 290 and 88, that regularly cause backups in the old configuration

ISTHA is making progress. Don't know how fast or how much, but it should be pretty nice when done

[edwaleni]

Living down in Southern IL, I don't get to drive the Tri-State much, anymore, but younger in life I lived in Chicagoland and drove it many times, especially south of 88. That said, seeing the Central Construction Project in progress is pretty neat

I drove NB 294 on Black Friday evening from the 80/94/294/394 "southpoint"  to the 290 WB exit, so thru a lot of the Central Construction Zone

Before getting there, tho, at the 80/294 split, there is now a floating "North"  with no Shield to the right of the North 294 Wisconsin info on the BGS at the split. I assume an I-57 shield will be added under the "North"  on the panel. I did not see a corresponding floating "South"  on the West 80 Iowa BGS, tho

The BGS for the new I-57 North exit is pretty standard and normal

In the construction zone, the old Cash lanes at the 83rd St Toll are completely closed now, but are still standing. Looked like the new Archer Ave bridge structures are up and the old ones are being taken down

After being on the new Mile Long Bridge, there is a traffic split where 2 left lanes are sent over to the NB side and 2 right lanes serve the I-55 interchange, and they merge back between the onramp from I-55 and the offramp to Hinsdale Oasis, which of course is now Hinsdale 7-Eleven/Mobil

There were segments of layed concrete pavement in this area for the NB lanes that still had the plastic "curing"  plastic blankets on, so, I'm guessing that was poured right before Thanksgiving

Nothing really eventful that I noticed next, until the 290 ramps. Drove it in the dark, so not the greatest look, but especially after merging onto 290, there is quite a bit of work done and you can see the new areas ready for the new fly-under ramps for 294 NB->290 WB under the new 294 SB lanes. Also at one point of 290 the 294 SB retaining wall is built right to the edge of the right WB 290 shoulder, which is kinda neat. Can also see the new, massive support piers for the new SB 294 CD road to help cut down the weaving traffic for the Exits and Entrances with 290 and 88, that regularly cause backups in the old configuration

ISTHA is making progress. Don't know how fast or how much, but it should be pretty nice when done

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

[JoePCool14]

Before getting there, tho, at the 80/294 split, there is now a floating "North"  with no Shield to the right of the North 294 Wisconsin info on the BGS at the split. I assume an I-57 shield will be added under the "North"  on the panel. I did not see a corresponding floating "South"  on the West 80 Iowa BGS, tho

That floating TOLL North banner has been there for years now, well before construction on the NB 57 ramp was underway. Since at least 2015, in fact! I doubt that's why it's there. To be honest, I have no idea why it's there. I still wonder if someone was told to put that as a patch over the original "North Tollway" banners in the center of the sign, but they just decided to put it on the top right corner because they didn't know what they were doing.

[Jericho That]

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

For whatever reason, the Western Springs bridge is the official Mile Long Bridge. The Tollway calls the bridge over the CP railyard the Bensenville Yard Bridge.

[edwaleni]

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

For whatever reason, the Western Springs bridge is the official Mile Long Bridge. The Tollway calls the bridge over the CP railyard the Bensenville Yard Bridge.

Interesting, I never knew it had an "official" title.

[ET21]

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

For whatever reason, the Western Springs bridge is the official Mile Long Bridge. The Tollway calls the bridge over the CP railyard the Bensenville Yard Bridge.

Willow Springs/Hodgkins for the Mile Long bridge. Western Springs is further north near the Ogden Ave interchange.

[CtrlAltDel]

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

For whatever reason, the Western Springs bridge is the official Mile Long Bridge. The Tollway calls the bridge over the CP railyard the Bensenville Yard Bridge.

Is this the bridge you're referring to? I ask since it's only a bit longer than half a mile.

[3467]

Yes that is the Bensonville Bridge.

[ET21]

New signage is going up on the SB 294 section between 88th Ave and 95th St. What used to be those small signs along the noisewall are now overhead

[Quimby]

At first I was going to ask "which one?" on the mile long bridge then I saw your I-55 remark and knew which one.

ISHTA actually has two "mile long" bridges on I-294.  The one you reference is in Western Springs over the Des Plaines River valley. The other is the one in Bensenville over the Canadian Pacific rail yards.

For whatever reason, the Western Springs bridge is the official Mile Long Bridge. The Tollway calls the bridge over the CP railyard the Bensenville Yard Bridge.

Interesting, I never knew it had an "official" title.

It has its own wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile-Long_Bridge

[ET21]

I-294 update from what I saw during holiday travels last week.

NB I-294
-95th to 88th Ave: 4 lanes are open with the counter-flow gone, just a very wide left shoulder with cones blocking. Have a feeling they have some final work to do when things warm up. 88th Ave bridge/ramp work continues.

88th Ave to I-55: The WB Archer Ave to NB 294 ramp looks almost ready to be opened. The split flow at the end of the Mile Long Bridge now has 3 lanes right, 2 lanes left. Far right lane of the right split goes to I-55 with a new overhead sign. The remaining two lanes merge to one before rejoining the "express lanes".

I-55 to St. Charles Rd: Resurfacing is completed with the inside shoulder blocked off, some chunks of the median gone. Pretty much status quo for now, everything looks prepped to begin tearing up that section once things warm up. Plainfield Rd bridge continues to be built. Piers continue to be built for the 290/88 JCT ramps.

St. Charles Rd to Bensenville Bridge: A new split has formed, 2 right lanes and 2 left lanes. Goes from North Ave to just past Wolf Rd while they begin to rebuild the middle pavement again. Looks like most of the 490 piers are built that are in view, just need the bridge deck beams.

The only notable SB 294 news is the 88th Ave-95th section. 5 lanes are back with a wide left shoulder blocked by cones. New signage is up for the 95th exit and the far right lane is again an exit only for 95th St. Everything else SB is very similar to the NB observations.

[ET21]

Two big updates to 294

-NB 294 has reopened the SB I-55/Wolf Road ramp with a temp configuration of 3 lanes left/1 lane right. The right lane is on new roadway. In a couple weeks another shift will commence.

-The bigger headline one is up north. NB 294 splits with 2 lanes left, 2 lanes right at the I-290 exit. The two right lanes are on new roadway and gains a third lane from the old EB I-88 on ramp on the left. Eventually the far right lane becomes WB I-290 exit only with two lanes continuing northbound on 294. The left two lanes remain on mainline 294 and continue mostly normal but EB I-88 traffic merge in. This merge is causing major havoc with the AM/PM rush hours the last couple mornings with backups on I-88 EB going as far back as Midwest road and NB 294 traffic backing up as far south as Cermak occasionally.

[ET21]

I-294 updates

95th to Plainfield Road: Its looking like a stage change or cleanup is underway to open up the 5th lane in multiple sections. Median rebuilding continues especially around the Plainfield Road/I-55 bridges and the 83rd-87th/Roberts Rd sections. The 88th Ave bridge/ramps continue to be built.

Plainfield Rd to Cermak Toll: The entire median has been torn up and is beginning to be rebuilt. The remaining overhead gantries are down and the old pedestrian bridge near Ogden has been gone for a few months now. The Ogden ramp reconfiguration has also continued along.

Cermak-North Ave: The NB lanes are where the most changes have been noticed after driving it yesterday. The left 2 lanes (express) is still mostly the same save for a few new movements, but the right 3 lanes have seen some big changes. You can now only access Roosevelt Rd through the toll booth lanes only as a barrier now separates the mainline traffic from merging right. Only one lane now exits back to the mainline after the local Roosevelt lanes. The 294/290 locals are now up to 3 lanes the entire length with the right lane being an exit only to 290 west eventually. The EB 290 ramp is very janky atm with a surprise right turn with 2 signs saying "GO HERE" essentially. Reminds me how nasty the 95th St exit was going SB for awhile.

North of there everything still remains the same. The new SB 294-EB 290 ramp continues to be built.

North Ave-O'Hare Oasis: No major changes here. The visible I-490 JCT stuff has pretty much stopped for about half a year now but I'm sure there's been stuff going on below and not visible from 294.

[ET21]

Update to the above post between Plainfield and Cermak. The median was torn out for roadway shifts as the entire east side of the highway (NB sections) get torn up and rebuilt. At Plainfield, 55th, and 31st the NB lanes split 2 left, 2 right around the bridge median piers. SB lanes remain shifted as they were earlier this year, though its now 4 lanes from Plainfield Rd to the I-55 bridge where it then becomes 5 lanes to 95th.

[Revive 755]

Eastbound I-90 had another fatal multi-vehicle crash near the I-290/IL 53 interchange this week.  There was also a fatal multi-vehicle wreck in the same area this past April.

[Brandon]

Eastbound I-90 had another fatal multi-vehicle crash near the I-290/IL 53 interchange this week.  There was also a fatal multi-vehicle wreck in the same area this past April.

Looks like different circumstances.  One crash in an area is not necessarily comparable to another.

[ET21]

The southern third of the Tri-State rebuild is almost done (95th to I-55). Last things that need to be finished that I noticed:

-Median rebuild between Willow Springs Rd/75th exit and Joliet Rd
-Reopening the EB Archer to SB 294 ramp
-Opening the new WB Archer to NB 294 ramp
-Completing the 88th Ave rebuild and opening those new ramps (exit NB, entrance SB)
-Final new asphalt between the Mile Long Bridge and I-55 once the lanes are switched back
-New signage and the overhead automated lane signals

[SSOWorld]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

[hobsini2]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

Many many moons ago (roughly 25 years ago) I worked for the ISTHA as a dispatcher. One of the things that was given to us during the training was a "collection book" that had a breakdown of what each plaza (ramp and mainline) collected. I wish I knew what I did with it. But anyway, back in 1998ish, the toll authority collected over 300 million in tolls in 1 year.  Pre-COVID, they collect almost 1.38 Billion in 2019. They will not give that up anytime soon since it pays for the maintenance and upgrades of the system.

[edwaleni]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

Many many moons ago (roughly 25 years ago) I worked for the ISTHA as a dispatcher. One of the things that was given to us during the training was a "collection book" that had a breakdown of what each plaza (ramp and mainline) collected. I wish I knew what I did with it. But anyway, back in 1998ish, the toll authority collected over 300 million in tolls in 1 year.  Pre-COVID, they collect almost 1.38 Billion in 2019. They will not give that up anytime soon since it pays for the maintenance and upgrades of the system.

@ Hobsini,

Did you work at ISTHA when they used 1 guy in a Ford Escort to go around and pick up the coins collected from all the booths?

I seem to recall the guy put on some 250k miles plus and had the rear shocks replaced several times due to carrying the weight of the coin for so many years.

After a major audit revealed the practice, they stopped using him and went to a bonded vendor.

Since you spent a few years there, just curious if you knew the guy.

[lstone19]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

Many many moons ago (roughly 25 years ago) I worked for the ISTHA as a dispatcher. One of the things that was given to us during the training was a "collection book" that had a breakdown of what each plaza (ramp and mainline) collected. I wish I knew what I did with it. But anyway, back in 1998ish, the toll authority collected over 300 million in tolls in 1 year.  Pre-COVID, they collect almost 1.38 Billion in 2019. They will not give that up anytime soon since it pays for the maintenance and upgrades of the system.

I think SSOWorld meant dismantling the old cash lanes at the mainline plazas adjacent to the ORT lanes. They no longer serve any purpose (for the first few months after the tollway went cashless, they were useful for people who thought they had to go to the cash lanes where they could then read a sign saying it's cashless at slow speed or while stopped (I saw that a few times). But now, they serve no benefit.

[hobsini2]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

Many many moons ago (roughly 25 years ago) I worked for the ISTHA as a dispatcher. One of the things that was given to us during the training was a "collection book" that had a breakdown of what each plaza (ramp and mainline) collected. I wish I knew what I did with it. But anyway, back in 1998ish, the toll authority collected over 300 million in tolls in 1 year.  Pre-COVID, they collect almost 1.38 Billion in 2019. They will not give that up anytime soon since it pays for the maintenance and upgrades of the system.

@ Hobsini,

Did you work at ISTHA when they used 1 guy in a Ford Escort to go around and pick up the coins collected from all the booths?

I seem to recall the guy put on some 250k miles plus and had the rear shocks replaced several times due to carrying the weight of the coin for so many years.

After a major audit revealed the practice, they stopped using him and went to a bonded vendor.

Since you spent a few years there, just curious if you knew the guy.

I know of that story but I never knew the guy.

[hobsini2]

Have they considered dismantling the toll booths?

Many many moons ago (roughly 25 years ago) I worked for the ISTHA as a dispatcher. One of the things that was given to us during the training was a "collection book" that had a breakdown of what each plaza (ramp and mainline) collected. I wish I knew what I did with it. But anyway, back in 1998ish, the toll authority collected over 300 million in tolls in 1 year.  Pre-COVID, they collect almost 1.38 Billion in 2019. They will not give that up anytime soon since it pays for the maintenance and upgrades of the system.

I think SSOWorld meant dismantling the old cash lanes at the mainline plazas adjacent to the ORT lanes. They no longer serve any purpose (for the first few months after the tollway went cashless, they were useful for people who thought they had to go to the cash lanes where they could then read a sign saying its cashless at slow speed or while stopped (I saw that a few times). But now, they serve no benefit.

Fair point. I would have to look into that. It probably was not on their visual horizon when the bids for the Tri-State widening went out. The bids I believe went out sometime around 2015. They only went cashless in response to COVID. Now it is no secret that they wanted to eliminate the jobs at the toll booths but they needed a legit excuse to do so.