Road rehab: What’s in the tollway’s $26.5B construction program?

From a seismic interchange redo to an O’Hare International Airport facility, the Illinois tollway’s sprawling new $26.5 billion capital program is a lot of concrete to absorb.

Dubbed “Driving Connections,” the 15-year initiative dedicates more than $14.6 billion to toll road reconstruction and rehab, nearly $3.36 billion for interchange upgrades and about $880 million for widening, a preliminary analysis shows.

In contrast, the agency’s last $15 billion mega-plan, Move Illinois, included building the new I-490 toll road on O’Hare’s west side, extending Route 390 to the airport and constructing an interchange at I-57 and the Tri-State.

The 2026 “project list doesn’t have a great deal of ‘wow factor,’ but most items are critically needed,” DePaul University Professor and transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman said.

“Anyone doubting that serious bottlenecks exist should hop on the tollway system during peak hours during summer.”

Rate hikes averaging 45 cents a toll for I-PASS customers in passenger vehicles would help fund construction as well as inflation-based increases every other year starting in 2029, pending board approval.

One blockbuster item on the roster is $3.1 billion for interchange improvements at I-88 and I-355.

The tollway plans to reduce backups at the congested nexus by adding lanes to northbound and southbound I-355 in the Downers Grove area as well as ramp improvements.

A similar project would reconfigure the Tri-State interchange with Irving Park Road in Schiller Park, which currently only offers access to and from the north. The tollway plans to build a full interchange at a cost of $132 million.

“We learned through Move Illinois that investments in interchanges are important,” Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said.

“There’s also a lot of investment in technology that will improve safety. Also, there’s an opportunity to rehabilitate aging bridges within this program.”

Reconstructing a 17-mile stretch of I-355 between I-55 and Army Trail Road in Addison will cost about $2.2 billion.

Former tollway director and state Sen. Bill Morris voted against Move Illinois in 2011 because he considered the toll increase at the time too extreme, and he is dubious about the latest incarnation.

“First of all, it appears they decided to raise tolls, and then they threw this together quickly for justification,” Morris said Friday. “Some of these ‘projects’ are maintenance and one could argue not capital projects in the historic sense.”

The agency also is investing millions for future improvements, including a $240 million study and preliminary engineering on reducing gridlock at the I-294 and I-90 interchange in Rosemont and a $34 million study to identify solutions to congestion at the I-90/I-290/Route 53 nexus.

O’Hare collaboration

Another Driving Connections priority is collaborating with partner agencies like the Chicago Department of Aviation to advance regional transportation, officials said.

One example is a joint venture with CDA near the future Route 390 and I-490 interchange next to O’Hare.

City officials said the “western access facility will allow for employee parking and screening for airline employees. The facility will be constructed by the Illinois tollway through an intergovernmental agreement with the CDA.”

“Details on that agreement and the project’s scope and timing will be announced later this year,” CDA Communications Director Kevin Bargnes said.

The tollway has listed the project as costing $412 million and noted it will involve rehabbing original sections of Route 390.

At a June 18 meeting, Rouse noted that “across Illinois, we are a connected system, and so making sure we’re thinking regionally is also important, (as is) making sure that our investments are aligning with some of the other priorities across the state.”

Morris, a former Waukegan mayor, commented that “there are a lot of questions that should be asked before Jane and Joe Family are asked to dig deeper into their pockets for toll increases that exceed the inflation rate 10 times or more.”

Here’s a sampling of other significant proposed construction, which often includes improvements such as better drainage and upgraded technology.

Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355)

• Resurfacing between the Spring Creek Toll Plaza near Lockport and I-55 at a cost of $650 million.

• Widening in both directions between Roosevelt Road and North Avenue in the Lombard area to reduce congestion, budgeted at $197 million.

Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88)

• Resurfacing and rehab between the Aurora Toll Plaza and Washington Street in Naperville for $391 million.

• Widening in both directions between the Aurora Toll Plaza and Route 59 in the Naperville area for $390 million.

Tri-State Tollway (I-294/I-94)

• Rehabbing roadway and bridges between 95th Street in Bridgeview and 159th Street in Markham for $1.4 billion.

• Rehabbing roadway and bridges between Balmoral Avenue and the Edens Spur at a cost of about $1.3 billion.

• Resurfacing between 95th Street and Wolf Road in Burr Ridge for $707 million.

• Widening and rehabbing between Route 394 and 159th Street for $757 million.

• Widening the northbound lanes between Deerfield Road and Route 22 for $105 million.

Jane Addams Tollway (I-90)

• Resurfacing and rehabbing between the Elgin Toll Plaza and Kennedy Expressway at a cost of $664 million.

• Resurfacing and pavement upgrades between the Kishwaukee River near Rockford and the Elgin Toll Plaza for $823 million.