Chicago Skyway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Chicago Skyway |
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| Length: | 7.8 mi (12.6 km) |
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| Formed: | April 1958 |
| West end: |   I-90/94 at the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago |
| Major junctions: |
   US 12/US 20/US 41 at the Illinois-Indiana state line. |
| East end: |  I-90/Indiana Toll Road at the Illinois-Indiana state line. |
The Chicago Skyway also known as Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System is a 7.8 mile (12.5 km) long tollway bridging Interstate 90 at the Dan Ryan Expressway on the west end, and the Indiana Toll Road on the east end.
Historically, the Chicago Skyway was signed as and was widely considered to be part of I-90. However, around 1999, the City of Chicago realized they had never received official approval to designate the skyway as I-90. (In addition, it is not built to Interstate standards, although recently there have been substantial upgrades.) The city subsequently replaced most of the "I-90" signage with "TO I-90" signage. However, the Illinois DOT has always and continues to report the skyway as part of the Interstate system, and the Federal Highway Administration apparently still considers the Chicago Skyway an official part of I-90.[1]
The Chicago Skyway was originally known as the Calumet Skyway. It cost $101 million to construct and took about 34 months to build. Nearly eight miles of elevated roadway, it was originally built as a shortcut to Indiana and the steel mills from the southeast side of Chicago; there are only two eastbound exits east of the toll barrier, whereas there are four westbound exits west of the toll barrier. It opened April 16, 1958.
In the 1960s, the newly-constructed Dan Ryan Expressway and neighboring Calumet Expressway, Kingery Expressway and Borman Expressway proved to be free alternatives to the tollway, and the Skyway became much less used. However, usage has rebounded in recent years, partially due to the construction of casinos in Northwest Indiana, and the City of Chicago claims a record number of motorists used the skyway in 2002.
The main feature of the Skyway is a 1/2-mile (800 m) long steel truss bridge, known as the "High Bridge". The bridge spans the Little Calumet River and Calumet Harbor, a major harbor for industrial ships. The main span is 650 feet (197 m) long, provides for 125 feet (37.9 m) of vertical clearance, and is the highest road in Chicago. In 2001-04 authorities spent $250 million (USD) to rebuild much of the Skyway.
Recently, major construction on both the Kingery and Borman expressways has increased traffic on the Skyway, as well as the presence of riverboat casinos in Hammond and East Chicago, Indiana. In June of 2005 the Skyway became compatible with electronic toll collection and users can now pay using I-PASS or E-ZPass transponders.
The Chicago Skyway was a part of the New York-Chicago Toll Road system. The City of Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation formerly maintained the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System. A transaction that gave the City of Chicago a $1.83 billion dollar cash infusion leased the Skyway to the Skyway Concession Company (SCC), a joint-venture between the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Spanish Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte S.A., which assumed operations on the Skyway on a 99-year operating lease. SCC will be responsible for all operating and maintenance costs of the Skyway but has the right to all toll and concession revenue. The Triple-A bond insurer Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA) has guaranteed $1.4 billion of senior bonds to provide long-term funding for the privately operated Chicago Skyway. On June 30, 2006, this same joint-venture assumed responsibility for operating and maintaing the adjacent Indiana East-West Toll Road for $3.8 billion. This agreement between SCC and the City of Chicago is the first privatization of an existing toll road anywhere in the United States.
The toll is $2.50 for passenger cars and other two axle vehicles with higher rates for vehicles with multiple axles. A discount is given during the overnight hours for vehicles with three or more axles.
The bridge is heavily documented by the Library of Congress Historic American Engineering Record Survey number HAER IL-145. The survey consists of nearly 30 data pages and 21 black and white images.
[edit] Interchanges
Data obtained from http://www.chicagoskyway.org/routes/. Mile markers are with reference to length of Interstate 90 in Illinois.
| County | Location | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | Chicago | Interstates 90/94 West — Dan Ryan Expressway |
Western terminus of Chicago Skyway. No access to southbound Dan Ryan Expressway. | |
| State Street (0 East/West) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. | |||
| St. Lawrence Avenue (500 East) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. | |||
| 73rd Street (7300 South) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. | |||
| Stony Island Avenue (700 East) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. Also marked as "To U.S. Route 41 — Lake Shore Drive". |
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| 87th Street (8700 South) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. | |||
| Chicago Skyway Toll Plaza | ||||
| 92nd Street (9200 South) | Westbound entrance, eastbound exit. | |||
| U.S. Routes 12/20/41 — Indianapolis Boulevard/106th Street |
Eastern terminus of the Chicago Skyway. Interstate 90 becomes the Indiana Toll Road. | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Samuel, Peter. "Skyway is Interstate-90 unless state withdraws reports - Feds", TOLLROADSnews, 2005-06-29. Retrieved on 2006-08-02.
[edit] External resources
- Official website of the Chicago Skyway
- Chicago Skyway to Implement Electronic Toll Collection
- Chicago Department of Transportation
- Skyway Exit Guide
- Best of Transportation Page
- Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
- Illinois Highways
