Another glass oasis dries up, this time along Tri-State at Hinsdale
How do you remove a massive glass and steel structure suspended over thousands of vehicles traveling at 70 mph?
Carefully.
Crews started the painstaking process of removing the Hinsdale oasis' iconic glass-framed structure over the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) last week.
Work will continue into the summer and involve some lane closures. The Mobil gas stations and 7-Eleven shops on both sides of the toll road remain open.
It's the third time the Illinois tollway has yanked one of its over-the-road buildings.The Des Plaines and the O'Hare oasis glass enclosures were retired in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
The agency's widening of I-294 to six lanes in each direction between I-55 and the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) is gobbling up land the structure rests on.
Currently, workers are removing the roof from the inside.
Some of the most intricate demolition involves taking out the windows. The structure will be wrapped in a thick mesh to keep debris from landing on the road, officials said. Temporary overnight lane closures will be required.
Another complex step is removing the bridge supporting the structure. Overnight lane closures and some short-term full-closures of I-294 will occur later in summer.