Interstate 294

Interstate 294
Tri-State Tollway Tri-State Toll Road
Route information
Maintained by ISTHA
Length:	53.45 mi[1] (86.02 km)
Existed:	1957 (completed 1968) – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-80 / I-94 / US 6 in Lansing
	I-80 in Hazel Crest I-57 in Blue Island I-55 in Indian Head Park I-88 / I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Hillside I-90 / I-190 in Rosemont
North end:	I-94 in Northbrook
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← I-290 IL 336 →

Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/I-94, and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to Northbrook at I-94. I-294 is 53.42 miles (85.97 km) long; 5.32 miles (8.56 km) are shared with I-80.^[1] It serves as a bypass around the city of Chicago. I-294 is also the longest auxiliary route of I-94, at 10 miles (16 km) longer than I-494 in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The tollway is also the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway in Illinois.

Route description

I-294 has four of the Tri-State Tollway's six mainline barriers. These are located at:

• 163rd Street
• 82nd Street (southbound) and 83rd Street (northbound)
• Cermak Road
• Irving Park Road (IL 19; southbound) and Touhy Avenue (northbound)

The fifth and sixth are on I-94 near Waukegan and the other is near Deerfield

History

The portion of the Borman Expressway that was completed from Gary westward and the Kingery Expressway were originally designated as I-80, I-90, and I-294 from shortly after the Interstate Highway program was enacted until about 1965, when the connection between the Borman and the Indiana Toll Road was completed, and I-90 was swapped with I-94 west of that junction (and east of where those routes share the same road in Chicago), cutting back I-294 to its current south terminus (eliminating the Indiana part of I-294). Indiana later proposed to extend I-294 east on the current Borman Expressway to Indiana State Route 912, before having it turn north at that point, west at U.S. Route 12, and then back to I-94, most likely somewhere on the Bishop Ford Freeway near 130th Street. The request was denied.

I-294 was built largely before the growth and maturation of the suburbs that run along the corridor. As a result, the vast majority of the interchanges are partial, or were configured to have entrance ramps feeding the toll plazas. Gaps between exit ramps are common, the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) gap between Cicero Avenue (IL 50/IL 83) and 95th Street (US 12/US 20) being one of the more notable ones. Partial interchanges are located at Roosevelt Road (IL 38; northbound exit, southbound entrance), Irving Park Road (IL 19) (southbound exit, northbound entrance), Touhy Avenue (northbound exit, southbound entrance), Dempster Street (US 14; northbound exit, southbound entrance), and Golf Road (IL 58; southbound exit, northbound entrance). Several former partial interchanges have been converted to full interchanges, with automated toll collection facilities on the new ramps, such as at 159th Street (US 6; northbound on and southbound off added) and 95th Street (US 12/US 20; southbound on and northbound off added). The 79th Street exit was moved to 75th Street/Willow Springs Road, and made a complete interchange in the same manner.

From 1992-1993, the central portion of Interstate 294 between Interstate 90 and 95th Street was widened to eight lanes.^[2] Between 2006-2009, the southern and northern portions of I-294 (IL-394 to 95th Street and I-90 to Lake Cook Road respectively) were fully reconstructed and expanded, bringing the entire highway up to eight lanes.

Move Illinois Program construction

As part of the $12 billion Move Illinois capital program, ISTHA and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are partnering to construct a new, all-electronic interchange to connect I-294 to I-57. In 2014, ISTHA completed the primary interchange connections between I-294 and I-57 and at 147th Street. The remaining ramps to complete the interchange will be completed in 2023–24.^[3]

Additionally, ISTHA will rebuild the central portion of Interstate 294 between 95th Street and Balmoral Avenue.^[4] When this portion of I-294 is rebuilt, it could be widened to five lanes in each direction, get wider shoulders for buses and get active traffic management features that are currently being added to the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway as part of its rebuilding and widening project.^[5][6]

Exit list

The entire route is in Cook County.

Location	mi[1][7]	km	Exit[8]	Destinations	Notes
Lansing	0.00	0.00		I-80 / I-94 east (US 6 east) – Indiana	Southern terminus; southern end of I-80 concurrency; southern end of US 6 concurrency (NB lanes only)
			161	US 6 west / IL 83 (Torrence Avenue)	Exit number follows I-80; no southbound entrance; northern end of US 6 concurrency (NB lanes only); only free exit northbound
Lansing–Thornton Township line			0	I-94 west (Bishop Ford Freeway) / IL 394 south – Chicago, Danville	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus of Tri-State Tollway
South Holland	1	1.6	Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis
East Hazel Crest	3	4.8	2	IL 1 (Halsted Street)	Signed as exit 2A (north) and exit 2B (south)
	4	6.4	4	Dixie Highway	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Hazel Crest	5	8.0	5	I-80 west to I-57 south – Iowa, Memphis	Northern end of I-80 concurrency
	6	9.7	163rd Street Toll Plaza
Markham	6.5	10.5	6	US 6 (159th Street)	Signed as exit 6A (east) and exit 6B (west)
Blue Island	7	11	7	I-57 south – Memphis	Southbound exit to southbound I-57 and northbound entrance from northbound I-57 only; full interchange opening 2023–24
	8	13	8	IL 83 (147th Street)	Southbound exit northbound entrance
Alsip	12	19	12	IL 50 (Cicero Avenue / 4800 West) / IL 83 (127th Street)	Signed as exit 12A (south) and exit 12B (north) northbound
Hickory Hills	17.5	28.2	17	US 12 / US 20 (95th Street) / 76th Avenue	Signed as exit 17A (east) and exit 17B (west) southbound; no northbound signage for 76th Avenue
	19.5	31.4	83rd Street Toll Plaza (northbound)
	20	32	82nd Street Toll Plaza (southbound)
Justice	21	34	—	US 12 / US 20 / US 45 (La Grange Road) / IL 171 (Archer Avenue)	Southbound entrance only
Des Plaines River	21.2– 22	34.1– 35	Mile-Long Bridge
Hodgkins	22	35	22	75th Street / Willow Springs Road (10800 West)
Indian Head Park	23	37	23	I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) – Chicago, St. Louis	Signed as Exit 23A (north) and Exit 23B (south) northbound; no exit number southbound; no southbound entrance from I-55 south
	24	39	23B	Wolf Road (11200 West)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Hinsdale	25	40	Hinsdale Oasis
Western Springs	28	45	27	US 34 (Ogden Avenue) – Downers Grove, LaGrange	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west)
Oak Brook	29	47	29	I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) west (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) – Aurora	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	29.5	47.5	29	Cermak Road / 22nd Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	30	48	Cermak Road Toll Plaza
Hillside	30.5	49.1	30	IL 38 (Roosevelt Road / 1200 South)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as Exit 30A (eastbound) and Exit 30B (westbound)
	31	50	31A	I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) west (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) – Aurora	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Berkeley	32	51	31B	I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) east (Eisenhower Expressway) – Chicago	Signed as exit 31 northbound
Northlake	34	55	33	I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) to US 20 (Lake Street) / IL 64 (North Avenue) – Rockford	Signed as exit 31 northbound
Franklin Park	38	61	O'Hare Oasis
	38.5	62.0	38	IL 19 (Irving Park Road (4000 North))	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as Exit 38B (west) and Exit 38A (east)
	39	63	Irving Park Toll Plaza (southbound)
Rosemont	39.5	63.6	39	Balmoral Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	40	64	40A	I-190 west (Kennedy Expressway) / River Road – O'Hare	I-190 exit 1D; signed as exit 40 northbound.
	41	66	40B	I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway / Kennedy Expressway) – Rockford, Chicago	Signed as exit 40 northbound
Park Ridge	42	68	Touhy Avenue Toll Plaza (northbound)
	42	68	42	Touhy Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Des Plaines	44.5	71.6	44	US 14 (Dempster Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	45	72	45	IL 58 (Golf Road)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Glenview	49	79	48	Willow Road
Northbrook	51.5	82.9	52	Lake Cook Road	Northbound exit southbound entrance
	50.5– 53	81.3– 85	—	I-94 east (Edens Spur) – Chicago I-94 west (Tri-State Tollway north) – Wisconsin	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Tolled

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 294.

Route map: Google

• Kurumi's 3di page: Interstate 294
• Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 294