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EspañolTRI-STATE TOLLWAY
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:
★ Interstate 80 between Interstate 94 at Thornton and Interstate 294 near Hazel Crest
★ Interstate 294, which is routed on top of Interstate 80 to Hazel Crest, and then turns north to Deerfield
★ Interstate 94 north from Deerfield to U.S. Route 41
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; however both the Kingery and the Indiana portion, which was later named the Borman Expressway, were known as the Tri-State Highway before the Tollway was completed. 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.
Features
Interstate 294 in Indian Head Park, one-half mile south of the Hinsdale Oasis.
For being a relatively short highway, the Tri-State Tollway has numerous notable features and oddities.
★ 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 10 miles south of O'Hare). There are also automated toll collection lanes at some exits and entrances.
★ Open road tolling — Open road tolling allows the automatic collection of tolls via an I-Pass, without the need to slow down or stop at a toll booth.
★ 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 — Despite the fact that these two highways cross paths and there is room for an interchange to be built, I-57 is the only Chicagoland highway that cannot be directly accessed from the Tri-State Tollway.
★ Six Flags Great America — an amusement park in Gurnee, Illinois.
Edens Spur
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.
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 just west of Halsted Street, the bridge over the aforementioned Thornton Quarry.
★ 'Mile-Long Bridge' — on I-294 between I-55 and La Grange Road, 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.
★ 'Grand Avenue Curve' — The curve immediately south of the Bensenville Bridge (see below). This portion of the tollway functions as a long S-curve, causing delays due to limited visibility beyond both curves.
★ 'Bensenville Bridge' — on I-294 just south of O'Hare, the bridge over the Metra Milwaukee District West line and Mannheim Road (U.S. 12/45).
★ 'The Water Tower' — on I-294, a water tower by Willow Road.
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.
In 1998, the authority removed the entire multilane Deerfield Toll Plaza on the Tri-State, then considered one of the worst snags on the tollway system. To make up for the lost tolls, the Tollway Authority built the Huehl Road Toll Plaza on the Edens Spur to charge traffic that followed Interstate 94 into Chicago. In addition, tolls at the Waukegan Toll Plaza were increased, and additional toll plazas built on exits south of Deerfield at Lake-Cook Road, Willow Road and Golf Road (Illinois Route 58). Toll collection facilities were also added to entrance ramps to the northbound Tri-State at those points.
Rebuild and widen projects
By the year 2010, numerous portions of the Tri-State Tollway are scheduled to have been rebuilt and/or widened under the authority of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Various portions of the tollway are scheduled for completion throughout 2007-2009, with several already being completed. Plans for the Tri-State Tollway include three major projects: South Tri-State Tollway Rebuild & Widen, Central Tri-State Tollway Rebuild & Widen, and North Tri-State Tollway Rebuild & Widen.
South Tri-State Tollway
In early 2005, road work began to rebuild and widen a 17.6 mile stretch of the Tri-State Tollway from Illinois Route 394 in South Holland to 95th St. in Oak Lawn.
The project is divided into two phases. Phase I includes the portion from Route 394 to 167th Street and was completed in late 2006. Phase II includes 159th Street to 95th Street and began in 2007. [1]
Central Tri-State Tollway
In early 2007, construction began to rebuild and widen a 4.5 mile portion of I-294 from Balmoral Ave. to Dempster St., north of which construction will continue as part of the North Tri-State Tollway plan. Once completed, this project will widen the tollway to four lanes in each direction. [2]
Work on the northbound lanes is scheduled through mid-2008, and work on the southbound lanes will is scheduled to begin in late spring 2008. The project is scheduled to be completed by late 2009.
North Tri-State Tollway
In early 2007, road work began to rebuild and widen parts of the tollway from Dempster St. to the Illinois/Wisconsin state line. The plan calls for the rebuilding and widening of I-294 from Dempster St. to Lake-Cook Road, the rebuilding and widening of I-94 from Half Day Rd. to Grand Ave., and the rebuilding of I-94 from Grand Ave. to near the state line. Noisewalls or sightscreens will also be added at various points along the toll road. [3]
Interchanges
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
South Tri-State Tollway
| Interstate | County | Location | Mile | Exit #† | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cook | South Holland | 0 | |   2.5px  2.5px  | Southern terminus of Interstate 294 and Tri-State Tollway. Westbound Interstate 80 joins I-294 northbound. Eastbound I-80 continues concurrent with Interstate 94 eastbound to Indiana on the Kingery Expressway. |
| 'Abraham Lincoln Oasis' | ||||||
| East Hazel Crest | 3 | 47 |  | |||
| 4 | N/A | Dixie Highway | Southbound exit, northbound entrance. | |||
| Hazel Crest | 5 | 43-45 |  | Marked as "To  | ||
| 41 | '163rd Street Toll Plaza' | ||||
| Markham | 6 | 40 |  | Cloverleaf interchange. Tolls on southbound exit, northbound entrance ramps. | ||
| Alsip | 12 | 127th Street | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | |||
| 12 |   | 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 overlaps Illinois 50 at corner of Cicero/127th Street. | ||||
| Hickory Hills | 18 | 38 |   | Southbound exit to 95th Street/76th Avenue; northbound exit to 95th Street only. Access to   | ||
| 39 | '83rd Street Toll Plaza' | Northbound only. | ||||
| 36 | '82nd Street Toll Plaza' | Southbound only. | ||||
| Justice | 21 |  | Southbound entrance only (no exits). Signed access from  | |||
| Hodgkins | 22 | 34 | 75th Street/Willow Springs Road | Access to UPS facility. | ||
| Indian Head Park | 23-24 | 37 |  | 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 |
Central Tri-State Tollway
| Interstate | County | Location | Mile | Exit #† | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | Hinsdale | 'Hinsdale Oasis' | Also the entrance ramp from I-55 to northbound I-294. | ||
| Western Springs | 28 |  | Full cloverleaf interchange. Brookfield Zoo | |||
| Hillside | 29 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | |||
| 30 | Cermak Road/22nd Street | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||||
| 30 | 35 | 'Cermak Road Toll Plaza' | ||||
| 31 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | ||||
| 31 | | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||||
| 32 | 2.5px 2.5px  | |||||
| Berkeley | 32-34 | 2.5px 2.5px | To  | |||
| Franklin Park | 'O'Hare Oasis' | |||||
| 39 |  | Southbound exit, northbound entrance. | ||||
| 33 | 'Irving Park Toll Plaza' | Southbound only. | ||||
| Rosemont | 40 | 32 | 2.5px 2.5px  | River Road on northbound POV signs only. Southbound entrance from Balmoral Ave., providing access from River Road and | ||
| 41 | 31 |  |
Northern Tri-State Tollway
| Interstate | County | Location | Mile | Exit #† | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | Park Ridge | 29 | 'Touhy Avenue Toll Plaza' | Northbound only. | |
| 42 | Touhy Avenue | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | ||||
| Des Plaines | 44 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | |||
| 45 | 28 |  | Southbound exit, northbound entrance. | |||
| Glenview | 49 | 27 | Willow Road | Tolls on southbound exit and northbound entrance ramps. Northbrook, Prospect Heights, Wheeling | ||
| Northbrook | 53 | 24 | 2.5px  2.5px | 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. Southbound exit, northbound entrance. | ||
| Deerfield | 54 | 26 | Lake-Cook Road | Northbound entrance marked for I-94, southbound for I-294. Northbound exit is before the merge from the Edens Spur, and thus is on I-294.[4] No access to or from the Edens Spur. Riverwoods, Buffalo Grove, Ravinia Festival, Chicago Botanic Garden | |
| Lake | ||||||
| 55 | Deerfield Road | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | ||||
| Lincolnshire | 56 | 23 |  | Bannockburn, Highwood | ||
| Lake Forest | 59 | 22 |  | Vernon Hills | ||
| 'Lake Forest Oasis' | ||||||
| Libertyville | 62 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. Lake Bluff | |||
| North Chicago | 64 | 20 |  | Great Lakes Naval Training Center | ||
| Gurnee | 67 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | |||
| 68 |  | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | ||||
| 70 |  | Main exit for Six Flags Great America. | ||||
| Wadsworth | 21 | 'Waukegan Toll Plaza' | ||||
| North of Wadsworth, west of Zion | 76 |  | Northbound exit, southbound entrance. | |||
| 78 | |  | Southbound exit, northbound entrance. Northbound U.S. 41 overlaps I-94 at this point; southbound U.S. 41 continues toward Waukegan, and to the junction with the 'Edens Spur' (below) on the Edens Expressway. Northern terminus of Tri-State Tollway. | |||
| 78 | | Russell Road | Signed as exit 1A southbound. |
Edens Spur
| Interstate | County | Location | Mile | Exit #† | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | Northbrook | 24 | 'Huehl Road Toll Plaza' | ||
| 50.5 | | Westbound entrance, eastbound exit. Mileposts count back from I-94/I-294 junction. | ||||
| Eastbound I-94 merges and overlaps 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. |
External links
★ Illinois Tollway official site
★
★ System Map
★
★ Entrance and Exit Information
References
★ Illinois Highways Page - Illinois Tollways
★ Dennis McClendon, Re: (CHICAGOTRANSIT) Expressway openings
Notes
1. Illinois Tollway: South Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Phase II Rebuild & Widen
2. Illinois Tollway: Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Rebuild & Widen...
3. North Tri-State Tollway (I-294/94) Rebuild & Widen Project
4. Google Map.
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