Interstate 294

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interstate 294 Secondary route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	53.42 mi (85.97 km)
Formed:	1957
South end:	Interstates 80/94, Illinois 394 in South Holland, IL
Major junctions:	I-80 in Hazel Crest, IL I-55 in Indian Head Park, IL I-88 in Hillside, IL I-290 in Berkeley, IL and Elmhurst, IL I-190 in Chicago, IL Interstate 90 in Rosemont, IL
North end:	Interstate 94 in Deerfield, IL

Interstate 294 (abbreviated I-294) is part of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. It goes from Deerfield at Interstate 94 to South Holland at Interstates 80 and 94, and Illinois Route 394 near the Illinois/Indiana state line. Interstate 294 is 53 miles (85 km) long.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Intersections with other interstates 4 Notes 5 Exit list 6 References 7 External resources

[edit] Route description

Interstate 294 has 4 of the Tri-State Tollway's 5 mainline barriers. These are located at:

• 163rd Street
• 82nd/83rd Streets
• 22nd Street (Cermak Road)
• Irving Park Road (Illinois Route 19) Southbound; Touhy Ave. Northbound

The fifth is on I-94 by Waukegan.

Interstate 294 is generally 6 lanes wide between I-94 at Deerfield and I-90 by O'Hare. From O'Hare to U.S. 12/U.S. 20 (95th Street), the road is 8 lanes wide. As of 2005, the remainder of the tollway is 6 lanes wide, being expanded to 8 by 2008.

The tollway used to be regarded as an alternate route to avoid downtown Chicago and its associated traffic, but over the last few decades it has been used more by commuters traveling from suburb to suburb.

[edit] History

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 Edens Spur 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 58). Tolls were also added to entrance ramps to the northbound Tri-State at that point.

The state of Indiana wanted to extend Interstate 294 east on the current Borman Expressway to Indiana State Route 912, before having it turn north at that point, west at U.S. Highway 12, and then back to I-94, most likely somewhere on the Bishop Ford Expressway. The request was denied.

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

• Interstate 94 in Deerfield, Illinois
• Interstate 90 in Rosemont, Illinois
• Interstate 190 near O'Hare International Airport
• Interstate 290 in Hinsdale, Illinois
• Interstate 88 in Hinsdale, Illinois
• Interstate 55 in Hodgkins, Illinois
• Interstate 80 in Markham, Illinois
• Interstate 94 In South Holland, Illinois

[edit] Notes

Interstate 294 has no interchange on Interstate 57, although one is being considered. Plans for the interchange are currently at PE 1, or preliminary engineering, but have been repeatedly put on hold due to insufficient funding since 1993. In 2006, a consortium of south suburbs again pushed the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Tollway Authority to construct the interchange, whose construction costs are now estimated at between $235 million and $250 million USD.^[1]

Interstate 294 was built largely before the growth and maturation of the suburbs that run along Interstate 294. 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 9.5 mile (15.3 kilometer) gap between Cicero Avenue (Illinois 50/83) and 95th Street (U.S. 12/20) being one of the more notable ones. Partial interchanges are located at Roosevelt Road (Illinois 38) (southbound exit, northbound entrance), Irving Park Road (Illinois 19) (southbound exit, northbound entrance), Touhy Avenue (northbound exit, southbound entrance), Dempster Street (U.S. 14) (northbound exit, southbound entrance), and Golf Road (Illinois 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 (U.S. 6) (northbound on and southbound off added), and 95th Street (U.S. 12/20) (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.

[edit] Exit list

See Tri-State Tollway#Exit list for all exits on Interstate 294.

[edit] References

[edit] External resources

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

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 94
I-194	Michigan – North Dakota
I-294	Illinois
I-394	Minnesota
I-494	Minnesota
I-694	Minnesota
I-794	Wisconsin
I-894	Wisconsin

Browse numbered routes
< I-280	IL		ILL 336 >