New Southbound Mile Long Bridge Scheduled to Open to Traffic Next Week on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294)
The Illinois Tollway is preparing to open the new southbound Mile Long Bridge to traffic next week, completing the second phase of the $500 million construction project to deliver the new twin-structure bridge as part of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project.
“The reopening of the Mile Long Bridge is a testament to the hard work of the people who made the timely completion of this project a reality,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Replacing outdated bridges throughout the state is a cornerstone of my administration’s infrastructure revitalization goal and I could not be more proud to see this portion of the Move Illinois program come to fruition.”
The Tollway will begin work to open the new bridge to southbound traffic with traffic impacts beginning as early as the evening of Tuesday, October 11, and anticipated four lanes of open on the new bridge before the evening commute on Wednesday, October 12, weather permitting.
"Opening the new southbound Mile Long Bridge structure to traffic is a significant milestone in our work to rebuild and widen the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) between 95th Street and Balmoral Avenue, and is due thanks to the hard work of our contractors, engineers and material providers," said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. "Replacing bridges, including the Mile Long Bridge structures, throughout the 22-mile corridor will allow us to deliver the new and improved roadway on schedule to our customers."
The Mile Long Bridge Project includes replacement of two side-by-side structures – one to carry northbound traffic and the other to carry southbound traffic – to replace the original bridge built in 1958.
Work to remove the old northbound structure and construct the new southbound Mile Long Bridge began in spring 2021. Construction of the new northbound bridge structure began in summer 2019 and was completed in fall 2020. The entire Mile Long Bridge Project, including the third phase - removal of the old southbound bridge structure, is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2023.
The Mile Long Bridge carries traffic over two major railroads, the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal and the Illinois & Michigan Canal and local roads, and over several major distribution centers. Currently, up to 150,000 vehicles travel across the Mile Long Bridge daily.
The construction project includes building two, new side-by-side 4,800-foot-long bridge structures designed to last 100 years and increasing capacity to five lanes in each direction. The inside shoulders in both directions will be built to serve as Flex Lanes for transit, for emergency vehicles and as an alternate lane when warranted.
Facts about the new southbound Mile Long Bridge:
- The bridge features 27 spans supported by 26 piers, compared to the existing structure with 53 piers, reducing the impact on waterways, roadway and rail operations below.
- The bridge deck is supported by 250 precast concrete beams and 52 steel beams. Steel beams, measure up to 10 feet tall and range in length from 39 feet to 234 feet long were transported from Indiana and concrete beams measure up to 7.5 feet tall and are up to 187 feet long, were transported from Wisconsin.
- Nearly 34,000 cubic yards of concrete were used for the new bridge – an amount equal to more than 3,700 fully-loaded concrete-mixing trucks.
- The bridge deck includes nearly 7 million pounds of steel rebar.
Additional construction information about the Mile Long Bridge Project is available in the Projects section on the Tollway’s website at www.illinoistollway.com.
The Illinois Tollway is coordinating work on the Mile Long Bridge Project with the Village of Hodgkins, Village of Countryside, Village of Willow Springs, Village of Justice, Cook County, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Coast Guard, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), IDNR Office of Water Resources and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission, as well as numerous businesses located near the Mile Long Bridge.
The project is part of the $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project, scheduled for 2018 through 2025, is rebuilding and improving the Tollway from Balmoral Avenue to 95th Street to provide congestion relief, improve mobility, reconstruct old infrastructure to meet current and future transportation demand and to address regional needs. This work is funded by the Illinois Tollway’s 15-year, $14 billion Move Illinois capital program.