Travel Tips
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Illinois Tollway Guide to Lodging and Attractions
- Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80)
- Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88)
- Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90)
- Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355)
Attractions and facilities have been identified in coordination with the Illinois Office of Tourism and local convention and visitors bureaus. For additional Illinois tourism information, visit www.enjoyillinois.com.
Help Along the Way
- Motorists can call *999 for roadway assistance.
- Illinois State Police District 15 patrols the 286-mile Tollway system.
- Customers can drive worry free by taking advantage of free Child Safety Seat inspections to make sure kids are properly secured.
- Tollway Oases are a great place to rest and refuel, with a variety of food and beverage offerings and fuel stations.
- On the road and need to update your I-PASS account or add funds to your balance? Stop into one of our five Tollway Customer Service Centers.
Illinois Tollway Winter Travel Tips
If you must drive during inclement weather and in snow and ice conditions:
Clear snow and ice from all windows, mirrors and lights on your vehicle before starting. Blowing snow can significantly diminish visibility. Clearing all windows BEFORE you start driving assures maximum vision of your surroundings and assists in reducing ice and snow buildup as you drive.
Adjust speed to road conditions and traffic around you.
Reducing speed during inclement weather conditions increases your ability to respond to the unexpected.
Increase the interval between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
By creating more distance between your vehicle and others, you decrease your chances of a collision because stopping distances increase as pavement conditions deteriorate.
Avoid unnecessary lane changes.
During heavy snowstorms, slush and packed snow build up in the area between traffic lanes. Abrupt or frequent lane changes may cause your vehicle to slide on the buildup and spin out of control.
Keep away from snowplows.
Should you encounter snowplows, the safest choice is to keep back and let them do their job. They travel at a speed of approximately 30 miles per hour, so traffic delays should be expected. During periods of extremely heavy snow, Illinois Tollway snowplow trucks will work in tandem to remove as much ice, slush and snow as possible from all lanes at once.
Do not use the shoulder of the road to pass a snowplow.
Some snowplows are equipped with wing plows that extend to the left or right of the vehicle. While these wings allow for more efficient removal of snow, they are nearly invisible to passing motorists due to blowing snow. De-icing materials spread from the rear of the truck may also be a distraction to motorists attempting to pass.
Reduce speed in cash lanes at toll plazas.
Drivers paying cash at toll plazas should adjust their speed on approach during snow and ice storms. Watch for lane designations on approach to the toll plaza; switching lanes close to the toll plaza is unsafe, especially during winter weather.
Call *999 for roadway assistance.
Should you encounter car trouble and require roadway assistance, try to move your car to a safe position on the shoulder or in an untraveled area. Report stranded vehicles by dialing *999 from a cellular phone.
Stay in your vehicle, H.E.L.P. is on the way.
During continued periods of extremely cold weather, the Illinois Tollway operates a "Zero Patrol" to supplement the Illinois State Police District 15 and H.E.L.P. vehicles. These patrols enable us to cover the entire 286-mile Tollway system 24 hours per day when temperatures and/or wind chills are at or below zero. Stay in your vehicle – it's the safest place to be if you are stranded.
Winter Weather Statistics
The Illinois Tollway strives to provide customers with the highest possible level of service during winter operations. Every effort is made to act rapidly with snow and ice control measures that ensure the free flow of people, goods and services regardless of winter weather conditions.
Equipment
- The Tollway uses 183 plow trucks and 27 front loaders to combat winter snow and ice storms, and in a full call-out will deploy 183 snowplows to clear the roadway.
- The Illinois Tollway uses about 1,500 plow blades each winter season.
- The Tollway is prepared for the winter season. By the first week of November, the Tollway was prepared for the first snow event, with all equipment in working order.
Materials
- The Tollway will begin this winter season with a supply of 80,000 tons of salt, 41,000 gallons of liquid calcium chloride and 7,000 tons of roadway abrasives.
- During the 2010-2011 winter season, the Illinois Tollway used 81,435 tons of salt, 20,000 gallons of liquid calcium chloride and 5,600 tons of roadway abrasives. The average salt usage per year over the past four years is nearly 86,000 tons.
- Typical salt applications are 200 lbs. per lane mile during small storms and 500 lbs. per lane mile during heavier snowstorms or extreme icing conditions. Onboard computer controls monitor salt usage based on the speed of the truck and the amount of salt being put down.
Personnel
- The Illinois Tollway has 11 maintenance facilities, each responsible for 25 to 30 center lane miles and with 25-59 full-time personnel. Seven maintenance facilities are located in the Chicago metropolitan area, one in Rockford and three in rural areas.
- During a full call-out, there are 183 equipment operators, 11 mechanics, 11 clerical staff and 11 supervisors required for each of two 12-hour shifts to provide for 24-hour coverage. The Illinois Tollway's Snow Operations Center at the Downers Grove headquarters is staffed with traffic center operators and snow and ice control managers during winter weather events.
- It takes snow crews 1,969 lane miles to de-ice and plow one pass of the Illinois Tollway system during a snow and ice storm, which is equivalent to driving from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- In a typical 12-hour shift, snow crews make eight complete passes of the 1,969-lane mile system, for a total coverage of 15,752 miles. In a 24-hour storm operation, this would equate to more than 31,500 miles of coverage, or the equivalent of driving coast to coast across the United States 10 times.
