DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – The Illinois Tollway is scheduled to resume work this week on the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project northern section between Balmoral Avenue and St. Charles Road, including roadway reconstruction and widening and work to build ramps for the new I-294/I-490 Tollway Interchange.
All work is weather dependent. Electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to changes in traffic patterns. Up-to-date information regarding lane closures will be available in the Illinois Tollway’s Daily Construction Alert.
During the week of March 7, on southbound I-294 between Wolf Road and North Avenue overnight lane closures will be scheduled between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Two lanes will remain open to traffic while work is underway to shift three lanes of traffic to the right onto newly constructed pavement.
The fourth southbound lane will remain in its current counterflow configuration on the northbound side of I-294 through the spring.
On northbound I-294 between Grand Avenue and Wolf Road, traffic will remain in its current configuration, shifted to the right, through fall.
In late March, on northbound I-294 between Wolf Road and the O’Hare Oasis, traffic shifts will be scheduled. The new traffic configuration will shift northbound I-294 to the left with one lane traveling on the southbound side in a counterflow configuration. Southbound traffic is currently shifted to the outside. This configuration is scheduled to remain in place through summer.
Traffic shifts and counterflow lanes will continue through 2022 as work continues to reconstruct and widen I-294 between the O’Hare Oasis and St. Charles Road, including rebuilding the bridges carrying I-294 over North Avenue, Grand Avenue and the Union Pacific Railroad and constructing the ramps that will connect I-294 to the new I-490 Tollway.
Construction updates, project information, maps and detour information for work that is part of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project and the I-490/I-294 Interchange Project are available in the Projects section on the Tollway’s website at www.illinoistollway.com.
Construction in this area is being coordinated with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, Village of Schiller Park, Village of Rosemont, Village of Franklin Park, City of Elmhurst, Village of Berkeley and City of Northlake, as well as local fire and police departments.
Reconstruction and widening work on the northern section of the Central Tri-State Tollway between Balmoral Avenue and St. Charles Road began in June 2018 and is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2024.
Work in this northern section of the Central Tri-State includes repairing, resurfacing and widening I-294 between Balmoral Avenue and St. Charles Road along with improvements to medians, bridges and ramps, as well as reconstructing the inside shoulders to include Flex Lanes. The Illinois Tollway has already completed roadway, bridge and ramp improvements between Balmoral Avenue and the O’Hare Oasis in Schiller Park.
Work in this section also includes construction of the new I-490/I-294 Interchange with two new ramp bridges that will provide access for the new I-490 Tollway and a new southbound exit ramp from I-294 to County Line Road between Grand Avenue and North Avenue. Improvements as part of this project also include guardrail, drainage, lighting and signage installation, as well as landscaping improvements.
The $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project is reconstructing and widening the roadway between Balmoral Avenue and 95thStreet to provide congestion relief, update old infrastructure to meet current and future transportation demand and address regional needs. This work is part of the Tollway’s 15-year, $14 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. More than 220,000 vehicles use the Central Tri-State Tollway daily.
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