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Rahal christened the new lanes by
driving north on I-294 from the O'Hare Oasis, after receiving the
all-clear signal from the governor to drive through the new, nonstop
tolling lanes in a red 2005 Indianapolis 500 Chevrolet Corvette pace
car, provided courtesy of General Motors.
The Touhy Avenue Plaza is the fourth of eight toll plazas to
deliver Open Road Tolling lanes by the end of 2005. The others in
operation are Irving Park Road on I-294, Boughton Road on I-355 and
Edens Spur on I-94. Drivers will also soon be able to drive through
without stopping at the following plazas: Cermak, 82nd Street and
83rd Street on I-294 and at Army Trail Road on I-355. The remaining
mainline plazas are to be converted by fall 2006. Illinois is the
first state in the nation to convert a barrier toll plaza system to
the new Open Road Tolling technology.
"Thanks to Bobby Rahal for coming out today to dramatize how Open
Road Tolling lanes will allow motorists to get to their destinations
faster," Blagojevich said. "I've been coming out for each Open Road
Tolling opening because I want drivers to know we are doing
everything we can to reduce congestion."
The conversion of the tollway's traditional toll plazas to a
barrier-free system allows I-PASS users to travel at highway speeds
while their tolls are collected electronically by a monotube
overhead, reducing congestion and travel times. Vehicles without
I-PASS or that need to exit shortly after the plaza will pull right
into smaller traditional toll plazas, where drivers can pay cash to
toll collectors or use I-PASS and not affect the free flow of
traffic on the mainline. Separating I-PASS traffic from vehicles
paying cash also improves safety at toll plazas.
"I was able to convince Bobby Rahal to christen the new Open Road
Tolling lanes for us after he told me how much he liked his I-PASS,"
said Jack Hartman, executive director of the Illinois Tollway. "We
do want to emphasize, however, that while customers no longer have
to stop to pay tolls, they must follow the posted speed limit of 55
mph as they drive through the Open Road Tolling lanes."
Rahal is an I-PASS customer and a tollway user. He is only the
second person ever to win the Indianapolis 500 as a driver (1986)
and as an owner (2004), when driver Buddy Rice took the crown for
the Rahal Letterman Racing team.
Three Open Road Tolling lanes are now available for customers
with I-PASS at the Touhy Plaza. A fourth Open Road Tolling lane will
be available after the Tri-State Tollway is rebuilt and widened from
Balmoral Avenue to Dempster Street in 2006-2007. Work also will
continue in 2006 to complete improvements on the cash side of the
plaza. An I-PASS-only lane will remain available on the cash side of
the plaza for traffic exiting just past the plaza.
[to top of second column]
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 Open Road Tolling is just one of the projects under way as part
of a plan that will reduce average travel time on the tollway by
another 10-15 minutes one way. Construction has also started on the
extension of I-355 south to Will County; the reconstruction of the
Reagan Memorial Tollway, I-88; and the rebuilding and widening of
the South Tri-State, I-294, from the I-394 Kingery Expressway to
167th Street.
In addition to delivering Open Road Tolling at eight toll plazas,
other construction milestones coming up in 2005 include completion
of the rebuilding and widening of the "washboard" section of I-88 in
DuPage County, the rehabilitation of 32 miles of pavement on the far
end of I-88 in Lee and Ogle counties, and the rebuilding and
widening of the northbound lanes on the first five miles of the
South Tri-State by January 2006.
The tollway has been working hard to minimize the effects of
construction on current traffic by maintaining the same number of
lanes during construction whenever possible; sending alerts to media
about temporary lane closures, which are usually scheduled off-peak;
and providing construction and traffic information to the public
through the following mechanisms:
-
www.illinoistollway.com -- Check the construction section
for details on road projects and lane closures.
- 1 (800) TOLL-FYI -- Call for information on any lane
closures. The Illinois Tollway attempts to maintain the same
number of lanes during construction except for temporary,
usually off-peak lane closures.
- Roadway and overhead signs, including dynamic message signs
- E-newsletter -- Sign up at
www.illinoistollway.com.
The Illinois Tollway maintains and operates 274 miles of
interstate tollways in 12 counties in northern Illinois, including
the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, I-88; the North-South Tollway,
I-355; the Northwest Tollway, I-90; and the Tri-State Tollway: I-94,
I-294, and I-80, I-294). In 2005, the tollway kicked off the
governor's 10-year, $5.3 billion Congestion-Relief Plan, which will
reduce travel times by rebuilding and restoring 90 percent of the
system, adding lanes to about 117 miles of existing roads,
converting 20 mainline toll plazas to barrier-free Open Road
Tolling, and extending I-355 south to I-80 in Will County.
[News release from the governor's
office] |
