The Illinois Tollway is scheduled to resume work on the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) project northern section between Balmoral Avenue and St. Charles Road, including roadway reconstruction and widening and work to build ramps for the new I-294/I-490 Tollway Interchange.
An article in The Trucker states that all work is weather dependent. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place first to alert drivers to changes in traffic patterns. Up-to-date information regarding lane closures will be available in the Illinois Tollways Daily Construction Alert.
According to Illinois Tollway, during the week of March 14th, work will consist of the following:
- On I-294, between the I-55 Interchange and 75th Street, traffic is scheduled to be shifted on southbound I-294 with overnight lane closures scheduled between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane at times while work is underway to shift southbound traffic to the right onto newly constructed pavement. Once the work is complete, southbound traffic will be reduced to three lanes.
- Northbound I-294 between 75th Street and the I-55 interchange will be reduced to three lanes with traffic shifts beginning in early April. The new traffic configuration will shift northbound I-294 traffic to the left with three lanes traveling on the southbound side in a counterflow configuration. A fourth northbound lane will be maintained as an exit only lane to I-55.
- Traffic in both directions between I-55 and 75th Street will remain in this configuration through late summer. Work in this area includes continued construction of the northbound mainline pavement, reconstruction of the I-294 bridge over I-55, noisewall construction and storm sewer and utility work.
- Additionally, during the week of March 14, on northbound I-294 between 83rd Street Plaza to LaGrange Road, traffic is scheduled to shift and overnight lane closures, including intermittent 15 minute closures, which will be needed to complete the work. When the shift is complete, two northbound I-294 lanes will be traveling on the southbound side in a counterflow configuration and two northbound lanes will remain on the northbound side shifted to the inside. Southbound traffic in this area is currently shifted and will remain in this configuration.
- Traffic between 83rd Street Plaza and LaGrange Road will remain in this configuration through late spring. Work in this area includes northbound pavement and utility work.
During the week of March 28, work will consist of:
- Southbound I-294 between the 83rd Street Toll Plaza and 95th Street traffic shifts will be scheduled to begin with overnight lane closures to complete the shifts.
- Four lanes of traffic will be maintained on southbound I-294 with two lanes shifted into the northbound side in a counterflow configuration. Traffic traveling in the counterflow lanes will not have access to the 95th Street exits. Northbound traffic in this area is currently shifted and will remain in this configuration.
Traffic between the 83rd Street Toll Plaza and 95th Street will remain in this configuration through early summer with work continuing on the northbound I-294 bridge over 87th Street and the beginning of construction for the new southbound I-294 bridge over 87th Street. Work will also include mainline construction and noisewall, median, storm sewer and utility work.
In addition, the ramp connecting eastbound Archer Avenue to southbound I-294 will remain closed through the summer and traffic shifts are scheduled on the ramps connecting 75th Street to I-294.
More traffic shifts will be scheduled in the spring including in both directions on I-294 between I-55 and the Mile Long Bridge, as well as on the ramps connecting I-55 to northbound I-294 and southbound I-294 to I-55.
The following work will continue through the end of 2022 to complete the reconstruction and widening on I-294 between I-55 and 95th Street:
- Traffic shifts
- Lane reductions
- Ramp detours
The $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project is reconstructing and widening the roadway between Balmoral Avenue and 95th Street to provide congestion relief, update old infrastructure to meet current and future transportation demand and address regional needs. This work is part of the Tollway's 15 year, $14 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. More than 220,000 vehicles use the Central Tri-State Tollway daily.
