In all, the Tollway maintains a 286-mile system comprised of four corridors:
Tri-State
Tollway
(I-294/I-94/I-80)
Reagan Memorial
Tollway
(I-88)
Jane Addams Memorial
Tollway
(I-90)
Veterans Memorial
Tollway
(I-355)
With 1,924 lane miles, 636 bridge structures, 24 mainline plazas and 48 ramp plazas
the Illinois Tollway has earned a reputation as one of the best
operated and
maintained interstate systems in the nation, thanks in great part to the nearly 500 men and women of the Maintenance and Traffic Division.
Multiple Operations and Maintenance units
work together to reinforce the Tollway’s commitment to providing congestion relief and superior customer service.
These units include:
Roadway
Fleet
Building
Traffic Operations
Central Dispatch
Roadway
The mission of the Roadway Maintenance unit, with a staff of 371, is to plan and provide scheduled and routine preventive maintenance activities on Tollway pavement and right-of-way, as well as respond to emergency situations whenever they arise.
The Roadway Maintenance unit performs diverse maintenance activities on a daily basis, including, but not limited to, crack sealing, pavement patching and repair, snow and ice control, motorist assistance, H.E.L.P. patrols, bridge maintenance, incident management and accident response, right-of-way mowing, trash removal and routine landscaping.
Fleet
Fleet Maintenance, with a staff of 72, provides for the upkeep and maintenance for approximately 746 licensed autos and trucks and 1,507 unlicensed roadway related equipment (i.e., end loaders, sweepers, snow plows and hopper bodies).
In order to use clean burning, domestic alternative fuels, the Tollway has:
151 vehicles that can operate on E85 and will have 196 by end of 2009
270 vehicles running on Biodiesel
159 pieces of heavy off-road equipment running on Biodiesel.
In 2008 the Tollway used 30,550 gallons of E85 fuel and 611,068 gallons of Biodiesel fuel.
Building Maintenance, with a staff of 28, is responsible for the daily maintenance of 122 buildings (plaza buildings, maintenance buildings, central administration building, central warehouse, sign shop) which includes lighting, heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems, electrical, plumbing and sewer maintenance.
Traffic Operations
The Traffic Operations team plays a key role in incident management. They detect and confirm incidents. In addition, the traffic operations team communicates critical information to incident responders, customers, media and Tollway staff.
They facilitate quick response and the clearance of incidents from live lanes. The Traffic Operations team has grown to meet increasing demand for improved Traffic and Incident Management, and in particular, the demand for increased work zone monitoring and management in support of the Congestion-Relief Program.
Central Dispatch
Central Dispatch is a 24/7/365 team that is responsible for all radio communication with the Illinois State Police District 15, and Tollway Maintenance and Traffic field operations. These fully integrated systems provide instant communication that supports quick response to incidents on the system, therefore maintaining safe and efficient operations
Central Dispatch handles in excess of 233,000 incidents annually, monitoring an extensive network of alarms, as well as acting as the answering point for motorist calls (including those from *999 motorist assistance service), and operating an integrated notification system that keeps Tollway staff and executives up-to-date on system performance.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
The Illinois Tollway takes an integrated approach to maintain safe and efficient travel on its system by merging the deployment of traditional roadway services with the implementation of advanced transportation technologies.
We use a variety of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) resources to maximize efforts to :
Detect possible incidents
Confirm details and location
Communicate with necessary personnel
Respond with the correct resources
Resolve all events as safely and quickly as possible
ITS enables information about developing situations to be gathered more quickly and accurately, allowing the Tollway to respond faster and allocate the appropriate resources.
ITS means a smoother, quicker and safer ride for our motorists.
The Tollway also uses ITS tools on a routine basis to monitor and provide information about construction, weather-related activities and major planned events
Traffic and Incident Management System
The Traffic and Incident Management System (TIMS) was developed as an ITS initiative to enhance and expand upon industry best practices in traffic and incident management.
Using more than 200 closed-circuit television cameras and 127 solar-powered Remote Traffic Monitoring Sensors, the TIMS Traffic Operations Center operates as a clearinghouse for roadway information including gathering details about:
Congestion
Incidents
Road work
Lane closures
Once information is gathered TIMS operators use a variety of communications channels including:
Computer-Aided Dispatch
Internet-based services
1-800 TOLL-FYI hotline
48 Portable Changeable Message Signs
37 over-the-road Dynamic Message Signs
To reach Tollway management, traffic operations and maintenance personnel, emergency and enforcement agencies, the media and motorists.
