Start 5: South Tri-State Tollway Reconstruction
Cost: $669 million

A 17.5-mi.-long segment of the South Tri-State Tollway will get a new lane to provide congestion relief and reduced travel times.

The construction zone stretches between Illinois 394 on the segment's south and 95th Street on the north, said Jan Kemp, assistant press secretary of the Downers Grove-based Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. The existing roadway has three lanes in each direction, and the project will give the thoroughfare a fourth.

The project will be phased in part to reduce the impact of the work on motorists. In 2003, the latest data available, about 140,000 commuters on average navigated the segment each day.

The first phase will cover about 5.4 mi. from I-394 in South Holland to 167th Street in Hazel Crest, and the second phase, which is expected to start in the fall, will cover the 12.2 mi. from 167th to 95th Street in Oak Lawn, Kemp said.

Crossovers Started

On the first phase, the construction of crossover lanes has started between I-394 and 167th Street.

Southbound traffic was shifted to the outside so crossovers can be built in the existing median. This allows one northbound lane to cross over to the south side of the road, providing a work zone outside the northbound lanes.

The northbound lanes will be resurfaced this year, and the southbound lanes will be redone next year, Kemp said. From the bottom up, the composition will comprise a 6-in.-thick aggregate base, 4-in.-thick bituminous coarse
Superpave asphalt layer and 12-in.-thick continuously reinforced concrete layer.

Motorists will not have access to exits for the Lincoln Oasis, Halsted Street and Interstate 80 West during the project.

Kemp said a number of bridges are being reconstructed as part of the project to accommodate the additional lane, including the Thornton Quarry, Markham Yard and Dixie Highway.

In addition, the I-80 Westbound Bridge will be reconstructed because it is old.

The Halstead Street Interchange will be reconstructed to have traffic signals and will include the addition of a southbound collector-distributor road, new toll plaza for the northbound ramps and modifications to the southbound ramps.

The I-80 toll plazas and ramps will be reconstructed but remain open. The I-80 West ramp from northbound I-294 to westbound I-80 will be completed in 2005, and the I-80 East ramp from eastbound I-80 to southbound I-294 will be completed in 2006.

The Wood Street entrance ramp to northbound I-294 will be temporarily closed, and a detour will be implemented.

Return to Top of 2005 list