Illinois notes

[Rick Powell]

Will County to request study on possible tollway on I-80

Hah, that ramp at the bottom left of the image is the ramp I use to take to work every day.

It's also the ramp I typically use when I want to leave home and use I-80 east.  Who knew there were so many of us in this area? 

I used to get off at that interchange (eastbound) to take the Metra in to Chicago, and sometimes still do...but I-80 is such a dicey proposition for travel time, I usually allow for enough time to get to Hickory Creek station (13 miles east) instead, and if I miss the train there, the last resort is Blue Island station off of I-57 and 127th Street, or just giving up and driving in. I also remember the original cloverleaf at I-55 and 80 being an adventure with its tight quarters...when they rebuilt it, it improved things somewhat, but with all the traffic growth, the rebuilt one is just as congested and difficult to negotiate as the old one was. I remember a now-deceased IDOT engineer saying how he lobbied for flyover ramps during the original construction of I-80 but was rebuffed because of cost.

[inkyatari]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

[kphoger]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

I'm only 36 years old, and I remember when Laraway Road was gravel...

[inkyatari]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

I'm only 36 years old, and I remember when Laraway Road was gravel...

I'm 49, and I remember when Essington Rd in Joliet was gravel.  The old bridge over the Rock Run creek is now just behind a bank at the NE corner of Black Rd. and Essington.

https://goo.gl/maps/FDnMpecMKg62

[captkirk_4]

Will County to request study on possible tollway on I-80

Hah, that ramp at the bottom left of the image is the ramp I use to take to work every day.

How about we build the frickin Illiana and get a bunch of trucks out of the way??

The frustrating thing is that the IDOT roads are the ones in disrepair, and the Tollway is sitting on a huge chunk of change that is never going to get used on them.  I hope the ISTHA can throw some of its money at the toll lanes on I-55, and depending on how that goes, maybe they can use a similar approach toward I-80.  I-80 was originally built to bypass the central urban core of Chicago to facilitate long-distance traffic, but since the area sprawled outward, you have commuters (like me) and short trips utilizing the road.  It would be a good road for splitting into express and local lanes, but that would take a ton of ROW and transportation dollars.  Some kind of miniature version of that, like the toll lanes, would work well here, I think.

Well, we live in a country run by petty lawyers, great things like the Hoover Dam and Golden Gate Bridge can no longer get built so I know the logical I-480 Bypass south of Chicago land for EW traffic will never get built. I don't even bother with I80-90-94 south of the City and Lake during Weekdays coming up from downstate. Now I take US24 across to Fort Wayne and catch I69. It's four laned halfway across Indiana, but goes back to two lanes and although fairly low traffic, doesn't bypass county seats like Watseka and Monticello IN where you can expect to get hit by 5 or 6 lights. Still better than the stop and go crawl of I-80 from the Tri-State merger to about mile marker 22 in Indiana.

[SEWIGuy]

Well, we live in a country run by petty lawyers, great things like the Hoover Dam and Golden Gate Bridge

Garbage.

[paulthemapguy]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

A little birdy told me that this might happen within the next 5 years...

[inkyatari]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

A little birdy told me that this might happen within the next 5 years...

I am intrigued.

[Rick Powell]

They should also widen Laraway road and try to make it a higher speed route for the Semis.  Ugh

A little birdy told me that this might happen within the next 5 years...

I am intrigued.

No birdy needed, all you need is a link to the Will County 2015-2020 TIP.
http://willcountyil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=3127

[inkyatari]

No birdy needed, all you need is a link to the Will County 2015-2020 TIP.
http://willcountyil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=3127

I noticed that the Weber Rd. / I-55 interchange is listed. Is the project finally beginning in earnest?  I did note that the car wash about a mile south of the interchange, which is in the plans as a construction staging area, has been torn down.

[Revive 755]

It appears Illinois has a new bannered state route:  A SPUR IL 3 in East St. Louis.  Streetview

[kphoger]

It appears Illinois has a new bannered state route:  A SPUR IL 3 in East St. Louis.  Streetview

Cool!

I found the press release here (.pdf warning), stating it opened just over a year ago.

[johndoe780]

Does anyone at IDOT monitor buckling? I see IDOT attempted to repair some buckling on I-290, but did a terrible job. I notice that IDOT tends to just grind out the asphalt, but Michigan DOT tears up the asphalt and inserts 6" of concrete instead.

[JREwing78]

I doubt this weather is conducive to laying any kind of asphalt or concrete.

[silverback1065]

I doubt this weather is conducive to laying any kind of asphalt or concrete.

it's not.

[kphoger]

A friend of mine has been laying concrete here in Wichita for his job with the city.  He's laying it over a sewer main, though, so there's heat from underground.

[abefroman329]

Wasn't that wide grassy median put there as a routing for a potential future CTA Red Line extension?

Mike

You may be thinking of I-57, in which case, yes, it was.

Yea, half-awake brainfart.

:-p

Mike

Happens to the best of us.

[inkyatari]

Interesting Tribune article...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-new-year-transportation-getting-around-20171231-story.html

Looks like the Weber Rd. / I-55 interchange construction will begin this year - Finally - and the first phase of the widening of I-80 through Joliet will begin, with the widening of the overpasses.  At least that's what I hope that blurb means...

[ET21]

Interesting Tribune article...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-new-year-transportation-getting-around-20171231-story.html

Looks like the Weber Rd. / I-55 interchange construction will begin this year - Finally - and the first phase of the widening of I-80 through Joliet will begin, with the widening of the overpasses.  At least that's what I hope that blurb means...

I-88 rehab work between IL-56 and IL-251. Asphalt was just done about 4-5 years ago, so maybe we'll see some early prep work on the IL-47 interchange along with the bridge rebuilds.

[paulthemapguy]

Interesting Tribune article...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-new-year-transportation-getting-around-20171231-story.html

Looks like the Weber Rd. / I-55 interchange construction will begin this year - Finally - and the first phase of the widening of I-80 through Joliet will begin, with the widening of the overpasses.  At least that's what I hope that blurb means...

Thoroughly enjoying the writer's allegory of the Jane Byrne Interchange as a "concrete soap opera."
Illinois is broke, so I totally understand the fare hikes on the entire Chicagoland transit trifecta.

What the heck are they going to do to the I-94/IL-132 interchange THIS time??  They just reworked that thing!

I take the I-80 bridges in Joliet every day...how come I haven't heard of them rebuilding those?  They desperately need a rebuild because those bridges are old as shit and need more capacity.  I'm happy to hear about it, but it's going to make my commute suck for a while.

And GOOD GOD O'Hare really needed a rework of its rental car system--hearing about a project to rework that mess is excellent news!

[Brandon]

Interesting Tribune article...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-new-year-transportation-getting-around-20171231-story.html

Looks like the Weber Rd. / I-55 interchange construction will begin this year - Finally - and the first phase of the widening of I-80 through Joliet will begin, with the widening of the overpasses.  At least that's what I hope that blurb means...

What the heck are they going to do to the I-94/IL-132 interchange THIS time??  They just reworked that thing!

The article said US-41/IL-132 interchange.

[inkyatari]

I take the I-80 bridges in Joliet every day...how come I haven't heard of them rebuilding those?  They desperately need a rebuild because those bridges are old as shit and need more capacity.  I'm happy to hear about it, but it's going to make my commute suck for a while.

I think that's part of the I-80Will.com project, IIRC

EDIT:  Here it is...

http://i-80will.com/typography.html

Stage 2: Interim Rehabilitation Improvements

To extend the service life of the I-80 corridor until a long-term improvement can be completed, the Department has undertaken a Phase I Study targeted at a major rehabilitation of the corridor. The work required to extend the service life includes approximately 2.5 lane miles of reconstructed roadway east and west of the Des Plaines River, specifically between Chicago Street and the Rowell Avenue / Wisconsin Central Limited (WCL) Railroad bridge and just east of the Joliet Junction Trail bridge to just west of the Wheeler Avenue bridge. The reconstructed roadway will maintain the existing cross-section but will also build future lanes as shoulders in the near-term to maximize salvageability. The reconstructed roadway will tie into the existing interchanges with some slight modifications. In addition to the roadway work, 15 bridges will have deck replacement and widening with some concrete repairs to extend their service life and 10 bridges will have total structure replacement and widening. Overlays, concrete repairs, and maintenance work will also occur at bridges at seven other locations. Guardrail and drainage improvements with some in-line detention storage will also be incorporated into various areas throughout the study limits where deficiencies have been identified.

The staging of these improvements were broken into reasonable construction packages that could be implemented over several years. The Department is currently preparing construction plans for the Package A contract (between Chicago Street and the Rowell Avenue / WCL Railroad bridge). The anticipated letting for the eastbound package is March 2018 followed by the westbound package contingent upon plan readiness, land acquisition, obtaining all necessary environmental permitting and funding availability through the Departments Annual Legislative appropriations. Two other packages make up the Near-Term improvements. Package B work involves re-decking and repair to the Des Plaines River truss bridges. Package C work involves reconstruction/repair of select bridges and the roadway west of the Des Plaines River.

The packages were based on a priority for completion provided by the Department with respect to maintenance requirements and other advanced work prior to the future reconstruction of I-80. Packaging and advance work also incorporates necessary construction staging to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction always during construction activities for all projects.

[johndoe780]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-new-year-transportation-getting-around-20171231-story.html

Work also will continue on the eastbound Kennedy from Cumberland to Harlem Avenues; the U.S. Highway 41 and Illinois Highway 132 interchange; 159th Street reconstruction in Homer Glen and Orland Park; and Illinois Highway 120 bridges.

IDOT plans to begin rebuilding the Weber Road Interchange of I-55 in Romeoville and rehabilitating and widening I-80 bridges from Illinois Highway 53 to Rowell Avenue in Joliet.

[Henry]

I can't wait to see the new Circle Interchange when it's completed in three years.

[abefroman329]

And GOOD GOD O'Hare really needed a rework of its rental car system--hearing about a project to rework that mess is excellent news!

As awful as the process of picking up a car is if you arrive at ORD by plane, it's ten times worse if you arrive at ORD on a Pace bus to pick up a car, since then you have to take the people mover from the Remote Parking stop to T3, walk down to Arrivals, and take a rental car shuttle to the agency you passed over on the people mover.

I hope the extension of the people mover includes additional trains, since I would expect ridership to increase dramatically once the rental car center/parking garage open.