Tri-State Tollway

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Tri-State Tollway
Length: 78 miles (126 km)
Formed: Mid to late 1950s
Direction: North-south
From: Interstates 80/94/294,
Illinois Route 394 in Thornton, IL
To: Interstate 94,
U.S. Route 41 west of Zion, IL
Major cities: Franklin Park, IL, Des Plaines IL, Gurnee, IL
System: Interstate Highway system
Illinois Tollway system

The Tri-State Tollway is a U.S. toll road maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority in northeastern Illinois. It is actually a combination of three different Interstates:

The segment containing Interstate 294 is 53 miles (85 km) long; in total, the Tri-State Tollway is actually about 78 miles (126 km) long. Only the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway is longer in length. Despite its name, the Tri-State Tollway does not enter either Indiana or Wisconsin. On the Indiana side, the Tri-State Tollway ends three miles away from the Indiana border and continues as the Kingery Expressway. On the Wisconsin side, the Tri-State Tollway ends just before the border at U.S. Route 41. The road continues as Interstate 94/U.S. Route 41 to Milwaukee.

Contents

[edit] Features

Interstate 80/294 over the Thornton Quarry
Enlarge
Interstate 80/294 over the Thornton Quarry

For being a relatively short highway, the Tri-State Tollway has numerous notable oddities.

Interstate 294 in Indian Head Park, one-half mile south of the Hinsdale Oasis.
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Interstate 294 in Indian Head Park, one-half mile south of the Hinsdale Oasis.
  • Over-the-road Oases — these oases are a part of the entire tollway system, but the most are on the Tri-State Tollway. They provide food and gas without having to exit the tollway proper.
  • Pay-as-you-go tolling — Like all Illinois tollways, rather than getting an entry ticket and paying upon exiting the tollway, drivers pay a flat toll at toll barriers along the main line (typically every 20 to 30 miles) and another one upon entering or exiting the tollway.
  • Thornton Quarry — about 0.75 mile (1200 m) of the highway crosses a quarry being converted into a large lake for overflow storm water. See the Deep Tunnel project. Currently, the road's elevation over the floor of the quarry is up to 100 feet (30 m) deep on both sides of the highway, making for a unique view.
  • No direct interchange with Interstate 57.
  • Six Flags Great America

[edit] Lingo

Portions of the Tri-State Tollway are referred to in somewhat archaic language during traffic reports and casual conversation. The following are the most common, from south to north:

  • Thornton Quarry — on I-80/294, the bridge over the aforementioned Thornton Quarry.
  • Mile-Long Bridge — on I-294, the bridge over the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Des Plaines River, a large portion of the UPS transmodal facility, a few rail lines, and some Commonwealth Edison power lines.
  • Bensenville Bridge — on I-294, the bridge over the Metra Milwaukee District West line and Mannheim Road (U.S. 12/45).
  • Grand Avenue Curve — The curve immediately south of the Bensenville Bridge. This portion of the tollway functions as a long S-curve, causing delays due to limited visibility beyond both curves.
  • The Water Tower — on I-294, a water tower by Willow Road.

[edit] Edens Spur

Edens Spur
Length: 4 miles (6 km)
Formed: Mid 1950s
Direction: East-west
From: Interstates 94/294 in Deerfield, IL
To: Interstate 94,
U.S. Route 41 in Glencoe, IL
Major cities: None
System: Illinois Tollway system
Interstate Highway system

The Edens Spur is a 5 mile (8 km) cutover from the Tri-State Tollway to the Edens Expressway. It connects the Interstate 94 portions of the tollway and the Edens Expressway. It is technically a toll road.

Northbound traffic on the Edens Expressway has the option of cutting over to the northbound Tri-State Tollway, or remaining on U.S. Highway 41 (Skokie Highway). Southbound traffic on the Tri-State Tollway has the option of cutting over to the southbound Edens Expressway, or remaining on the Tri-State Tollway on the loop Interstate 294. There are no other ways to enter the Edens Spur at the ends.

There is one exit eastbound on the Edens Spur at Illinois Route 43 (Waukegan Road). There is also an entrance ramp to the Edens Spur westbound at that point.

The spur has one toll barrier, as it is still part of the Illinois toll highway system. This toll plaza has been upgraded and now has (I-Pass) open tolling lanes, which have eliminated most congestion at this toll.

[edit] History

The Tri-State Tollway was built in the mid- to late 1950s as a bypass of Chicago, as the Indiana Toll Road-Chicago Skyway (opened in 1956) ran towards downtown. The first section opened August 28, 1958, running from Wisconsin south to and east along the Edens Spur. The rest of the road, from the Edens Spur south to the Calumet Expressway and Kingery Expressway, opened December 23 of the same year. It was at first marked as U.S. Highway 41 Toll, which continued east on the Kingery Expressway (now I-80/I-94) to Calumet Avenue (US 41) in Hammond, Indiana, and ended at the north end of the Tollway, where it merges with US 41. It was also marked as U.S. Highway 30 Toll between its south end (the Calumet Expressway was U.S. Highway 30 Alternate) and the East-West Tollway. In 1959 the Tollway was designated as parts of I-94 and I-294, and the short concurrency with I-80 was assigned.

[edit] Exit list

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority numbers toll plazas, including plazas on exit ramps. Exits are not marked on overhead signs as of 2006. In the exit number column, below, only the exits indicated as exits of or have exit numbers on the signs.

[edit] Mainline

Exit or Toll Plaza # Milepost Destinations Notes
Highways and/or Control Cities Municipality
160A-B 0 Interstates 80 East, 94,
Illinois Route 394 - Chicago, Indiana, Danville		 South Holland, Illinois Southern terminus of Interstate 294. Westbound Interstate 80 joins I-294 northbound. Eastbound I-80 continues multiplexed with Interstate 94 eastbound to Indiana.
Southern terminus of Tri-State Tollway
Abraham Lincoln Oasis South Holland, Illinois
47 3 Illinois 1 - Halsted Street East Hazel Crest, Illinois
4 Dixie Highway southbound exit and northbound entrance
43-45 5 Interstate 80 West - Iowa Hazel Crest, Illinois Marked as "To I-57 South - Memphis". Eastbound I-80 joins with I-294 southbound at this point; westbound I-80 leaves I-294.
41 163rd Street Toll Plaza
40 6 U.S. Highway 6 - 159th Street Markham, Illinois Cloverleaf interchange. Tolls on southbound exit, northbound entrance ramps.
12 127th Street Alsip, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
12 Illinois Routes 50/83 - Cicero Avenue/127th Street Southbound exit, northbound entrance. Southbound ramp has dedicated ramp to southbound Cicero Avenue; access to northbound Cicero Avenue is via 127th Street, which is Illinois 83 at this point. Southbound Illinois 50 ramp also leads to southbound Illinois 83, which multiplexes with Illinois 50 at corner of Cicero/127th Street.
38 18 U.S. Routes 12/20 - 95th Street/76th Avenue Hickory Hills, Illinois Southbound exit to 95th Street/76th Avenue; northbound exit to 95th Street only. Access to Illinois Route 43 - Harlem Avenue, and Illinois Route 7 - Southwest Highway via this exit.
39 83rd Street Toll Plaza Northbound only.
36 82nd Street Toll Plaza Southbound only.
21 Illinois 171 - Archer Avenue Justice, Illinois Southbound entrance only (no exits); former southbound exit to Illinois 171 and U.S. Routes 12/20/45 - LaGrange Road closed late 1980s for safety reasons.
34 22 75th Street/Willow Springs Road Hodgkins, Illinois Access to UPS facility.
37 23-24 Interstate 55 (Stevenson Expressway) - Chicago, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri / Wolf Road Indian Head Park Southbound exit, northbound entrance to collector-distributor ramp; northbound exit direct to I-55. No southbound access to Wolf Road, which is accessed via I-55 southbound ramp. Access to U.S. Routes 12/20/45 - LaGrange Road via I-55 northbound.
Hinsdale Oasis Hinsdale, Illinois Also the entrance ramp from I-55 to northbound I-294.
28 U.S. Highway 34 - Ogden Avenue Western Springs, Illinois Full cloverleaf interchange.
Brookfield Zoo
29 Interstate 88 West (East-West Tollway) - Aurora Hillside, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
30 Cermak Road/22nd Street Southbound exit, northbound entrance
35 30 Cermak Road Toll Plaza
31 Illinois Route 38 - Roosevelt Road Hillside, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance
31 Interstate 88 West (East-West Tollway) - Aurora Southbound exit, northbound entrance
32 Interstate 290 East (Eisenhower Expressway) - Chicago
32-34 Interstate 290 West (Eisenhower Expressway) - Rockford Berkeley, Illinois Access to Illinois Route 64 - North Avenue, U.S. Route 20 - Lake Street
O'Hare Oasis Franklin Park, Illinois
39 Illinois Route 19 - Irving Park Road Southbound exit, northbound entrance.
33 Irving Park Toll Plaza Southbound only.
32 40 Interstate 190 West - O'Hare / River Road Chicago, Illinois
31 41 Interstate 90/Kennedy Expressway/Northwest Tollway - Chicago/Rockford
29 Touhy Avenue Toll Plaza Northbound only.
42 Touhy Avenue Park Ridge, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
44 U.S. Highway 14 - Dempster Street Des Plaines, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
28 45 Illinois 58 - Golf Road Southbound exit, northbound entrance.
27 49 Willow Road Northbrook, Illinois Tolls on southbound exit, northbound entrance ramps.
24 53 Interstate 294 South, Interstate 94 East (Edens Expressway) - Chicago, Indiana Deerfield, Illinois Northern terminus of Interstate 294. Tri-State Tollway follows I-94 northbound and I-294 southbound. I-94 southbound becomes the Edens Spur of the Tri-State Tollway; see below for exit list.
26 54 Lake-Cook Road
55 Deerfield Road Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
23 56 Illinois 22 - Half Day Road Lincolnshire, Illinois
22 59 Illinois 60 - Town Line Road Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest Oasis
62 Illinois 176 - Rockland Road Libertyville, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
20 64 Illinois 137 - Buckley Road North Chicago, Illinois
67 Illinois 120 - Belvidere Road Gurnee, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
68 Illinois 21 - Milwaukee Avenue Southbound exit, northbound entrance
70 Illinois 132 - Grand Avenue Main exit for Six Flags Great America.
21 Waukegan Toll Plaza Wadsworth, Illinois
76 Illinois 173 - Rosecrans Road Zion, Illinois Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
Northern terminus of Tri-State Tollway
1B 78 U.S. Highway 41 South - Waukegan Zion, Illinois Southbound exit, northbound entrance. Northbound U.S. 41 multiplexes with I-94 at this point; southbound U.S. 41 continues to Waukegan.
1 78 Russell Road Signed as exit 1A southbound.

[edit] Edens Spur

Toll Plaza # Milepost Destinations Notes
Highways and/or Control Cities Municipality
24 Huehl Road Toll Plaza
50.5 Illinois Route 43 - Waukegan Road Northbrook, Illinois Westbound entrance, eastbound exit. Mileposts count back from I-94/I-294 junction.
Interstate 94,
U.S. Route 41 - Skokie Highway, Edens Expressway		 Eastbound I-94 merges and multiplexes with southbound U.S. 41. Westbound I-94 splits from northbound U.S. 41 at this point. One thru lane traveling eastbound; two exit lanes traveling westbound.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

edit
Toll highways in Illinois
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
Highways
Northwest Tollway (I-39/I-90) | Tri-State Tollway (I-80/I-94/I-294)
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) | North-South Tollway (I-355)
Miscellaneous
I-Pass | Illinois Tollway oasis
edit
Expressways in Chicagoland
Stevenson Expressway Interstate 57 Interstate 65

Kingery Expressway | Borman Expressway
Tri-State Tollway Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Northwest Tollway | Chicago Skyway | Indiana Toll Road Dan Ryan Expressway
Kennedy Expressway
Edens Spur | Edens Expressway | Bishop Ford Freeway Eisenhower Expressway North-South Tollway
Elgin Bypass Lake Shore Drive | Skokie Highway Illinois Route 53
Kingery Highway Amstutz Expressway Illinois Route 394
Elgin-O'Hare Expressway Cline Avenue
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