 | 10/26/2009 Reconstruction & Widening Work Begins to Wrap Up on Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) in Rockford Area
Illinois Tollway Completing Improvements to Relieve Congestion and Improve Mobility
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Illinois Tollway is announcing the beginning of the end of roadwork on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) in the Rockford area as newly reconstructed and widened roadway will be opened between State Street and Rockton Road over the next week. The $180 million Reconstruct & Widen Project from Newburg Road to Rockton Road is part of the Illinois Tollway’s $6.3 billion Congestion-Relief Program – Open Roads for a Faster Future – and is being completed on schedule and on budget.
Work is currently underway to reopen the reconstructed roadway and new third lanes in both directions between East State Street and Rockton Road, marking completion of the two-year project to provide congestion relief, improve travel times and enhance travel in the Rockford area. Construction activity is ongoing to complete the remaining improvements to Newburg Road as part of the Cherry Valley Interchange Reconstruction Project and is scheduled for completion in November.
“The completion of this important two-year long project will provide relief to Interstate 90 and help improve travel times throughout the region,” said Governor Quinn. “It is projects like these that will be completed with the help of Illinois Jobs Now!, the first capital bill in more than a decade, providing long-awaited improvements to our bridges and roads.”
Completion of the project will provide congestion relief throughout the 13-mile corridor by replacing the existing 50-year-old pavement and expanding the roadway from two to three lanes in each direction, improving safety and mobility throughout the corridor.
The corridor is known for heavy volumes of weekend travel in summer through fall and carries the highest percentage of commercial truck traffic on the Tollway’s 286-mile system. Average daily traffic volumes along the stretch have grown from a high of about 18,000 vehicles a day in 1980 to a high of more than 53,000 vehicles daily in 2008.
“Coupled with the completion of the reconstruction of the Cherry Valley Interchange (I-90/I-39) later this year and the conversion to Open Road Tolling at the South Beloit and Belvidere toll plazas in 2006, these improvements on the I-90 corridor will have a positive impact on this interstate corridor to help bolster economic development and growth in the region.” said Carl Towns, member of the Tollway Board of Directors and a Rockford resident.
Illinois Tollway Invests $270 Million to Infrastructure Improvements
“The improvements to the I-90 corridor are critical to increasing the mobility and bringing much-needed congestion relief to the greater Rockford area,” said Acting Executive Director Michael King. “The Illinois Tollway’s investment in this corridor will help position the Rockford area as a transportation hub benefitting commerce and tourism throughout the region.”
Construction on the $180 million Reconstruct & Widen Project from Newburg Road to Rockton Road began in 2007 with advance work to prepare the shoulders to carry traffic through the 16-mile corridor. In 2008 the Tollway completed reconstruction and widening of the eastbound lanes from the South Beloit Toll Plaza to Newburg Road and in both directions from Rockton Road to the South Beloit Toll plaza. Work on the westbound lanes took place in 2009.
Several crossroad bridges over I-90 between the South Beloit Toll Plaza and Newburg Road were reconstructed and lengthened to accommodate mainline work. The eastbound and westbound I-90 bridges over East State Street in Rockford also were reconstructed and widened.
Work to reconstruct and reconfigure the Cherry Valley Interchange at I-90/I-39 is scheduled to be complete in November. The $89 million interchange work includes constructing a new, two-lane flyover ramp bridge over eastbound I-90, constructing a new ramp bridge over I-90 for westbound I-90 traffic heading southbound on I-39, and rebuilding the Newburg Road Bridge over I-90.
When construction is completed this fall, more than 54,000 cubic yards of concrete, 795,000 tons of asphalt, and 583,000 pounds of structural steel will have been used to reconstruct and widen the mainline and reconfigure the interchange. More than 1.3 million cubic yard of earth will have been moved. Approximately 250 workers – designers, engineers, and construction workers – were on site daily to complete the projects.
Part of Tollway’s Congestion-Relief Program
The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and the Cherry Valley Interchange improvements are part of the Illinois Tollway’s Congestion-Relief Program - Open Roads for a Faster Future, which is reducing travel times by rebuilding/restoring nearly all of the system, widening/adding lanes to many miles of existing roads, converting 20 mainline toll plazas to barrier-free Open Road Tolling, and extending I-355 south to I-80 in Will County. By the end of 2009 the Illinois Tollway will complete nearly $3 billion in work to reconstruct/rehabilitate and widen about 120 miles of roadway across the 286-mile system. These improvements on the Tollway’s roads will result in a smoother ride for motorists and serve as an economic engine for Northern Illinois.
About the Illinois Tollway
The Illinois Tollway maintains and operates 286 miles of interstate tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80). Tollway customers save time and money with I-PASS electronic toll collection - Get I-PASS & Get Going!
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