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Des Plaines oasis will close March 16

Illinois tollway drivers have less than two weeks to grab coffee or a burger at the Des Plaines oasis.

At 8 p.m. March 16, the agency will close the glass-framed structure that spans the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) in preparation for its demolition.

The pavilion is in the way of an ongoing widening project on I-90 and the extension of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway that includes a related bypass around the airport.

The gas stations and convenience shops will remain.

The oasis was built in 1959. With a Fred Harvey sit-down restaurant, the oasis used to be a destination point for suburbanites.

Once the oasis is closed, tenants will remove their equipment and utility work will begin in April, followed by taking down the pavilion.

The over-the-road glass structure will take about four months to remove. Actual demolition could occur either in late May or June. Tentative plans indicate occasional, 15-minute closures of all lanes at night could start in late May.

The project should be completed by the end of the year.

The demolition, site restoration and parking improvements will cost about $4.8 million. The tollway will reimburse oases' leaseholder SFI $9.3 million as compensation for closing the Des Plaines structure.

Meanwhile, the tollway and SFI are splitting the $16.5 million tab for rebuilding parking lots at the other six oases.

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