 | 11/02/2009 Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) Rebuild & Widen Work Nears Completion as Section from York Road to IL Route 83 Wraps Up
Illinois Tollway Completing Improvements to Relieve Congestion and Improve Mobility
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Work to rebuild and widen the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) is on schedule for completion by the end of the year, as construction on the east end of the corridor between York Road and IL Route 83 wraps up this week. Four new lanes of pavement are open in both directions in this highly traveled and complex corridor, featuring a reconfigured mainline toll plaza and four interchanges, and including an interstate-to-interstate connection with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294). Some punch list items will require minor shoulder closures to complete landscaping and some miscellaneous underpass lighting on the 22nd Street Bridge. Punch list work is scheduled to be complete in the first week of November.
The $178 million Rebuild & Widen Project from York Road to IL Route 83 is part of the Illinois Tollway’s $6.3 billion Congestion-Relief Program – Open Roads for a Faster Future – and is being completed two months ahead of schedule and on budget.
Completion of the work between York Road and IL Route 83 will provide congestion relief at the busy crossroads where two Tollway interstates - Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) - meet and connect to the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), by replacing the existing 50-year-old pavement and expanding the roadway from three to four lanes in each direction, improving safety and mobility.
The corridor is known for heavy volumes of truck and commuter traffic on a daily basis. Average daily traffic volumes along the stretch have grown from a high of about 29,000 vehicles a day in 1970 to a high of more than 136,000 vehicles daily in 2008
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Multiple Rebuild & Widen Projects are nearing completion along a 23-mile stretch of the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) from Oak Brook to North Aurora. The 2009 work involves three separate rebuilding and widening projects with all roadway work scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The I-88 Rebuild & Widen Project from Finley Road to IL Route 83 is scheduled for completion in December and the I-88 Rebuild & Widen Project from the Aurora Toll Plaza to Orchard Road is scheduled for completion in November with the Fox River Bridge work ending in December. Segments between IL Route 59 and Finley Road are already complete and drivers are benefitting from four new lanes of pavement in each direction.
I-88 York Road to IL Route 83 Improvements
The Rebuild & Widen Project from York Road to IL Route 83 began in 2007 with reconstruction of the Harger Road entrance ramp and westbound mainline rebuild and widening work, including work to add a fourth Open Road Tolling lane at the York Road Toll Plaza. Eastbound work began in 2008. Work also included the reconstruction of the connector ramp bridges between I-88 and the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) as well as rebuilding the IL Route 83 and Spring Road interchanges. Five bridges were reconstructed, as well as off-system work on 22nd Street under the Tollway.
Several bridges between York Road and IL Route 83 were reconstructed, including the connector ramps at I-88 and I-294, Salt Creek, and 22nd Street. Several more were rehabilitated, including IL Route 83 and Willow Creek. Reconstructing and widening the bridge over 22nd Street including rebuilding and adding a third lane on 22nd Street under I-88.
More than 76,700 cubic yards of concrete and 4,200 tons of steel have been used to reconstruct and widen the mainline and bridges. More than 130,000 cubic yards of earth have been moved. On any given day approximately 266 workers – designers, engineers, and construction workers – were working to complete the projects.
Part of Tollway’s Congestion-Relief Program
The Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) Rebuild & Widen Project is 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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