Diverging diamond interchange at Elmhurst Road is coming soon
Starting next Friday, the interchange at Elmhurst Road and the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) will no longer be a diamond in the rough.
Illinois tollway officials announced that they expect to debut the new diverging diamond interchange on Elmhurst Road over I-90 on June 16 following the morning rush hour. Ramps to the toll road, however, will be closed to monitor traffic flow and signals until the week of June 19.
The counterintuitive design uses traffic lights to guide vehicles temporarily into the left lanes to avoid making turns against oncoming vehicles. It will be the third such interchange in Illinois; one is operating at I-88 and Route 59 and another is located in downstate Marion.
On June 19, two rebuilt I-90 ramps carrying vehicles to and from the east will reopen, and later that week, two new ramps transporting traffic to and from the west will be accessible.
The interchange will eliminate left turns in front of oncoming traffic and reduce congestion, spokesman Dan Rozek said. "Right turns work the same as they do at conventional interchanges and traffic is controlled by signals."
The rebuilt interchange will be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly with a shared-use path and median.
Drivers will need to have I-PASS transponders or pay online as the interchange is all-electronic. Tolls on the ramps to and from the west cost 55 cents for I-PASS users and $1.10 if you pay in cash.