DOWNERS GROVE, Ill – According to a news release from the Illinois Tollway, it expects around 9.2 million vehicles to drive the Illinois Tollway system during this year’s extended Thanksgiving holiday, and adding visiting family and friends to I-PASS or Pay By Plate accounts provides convenient toll options for travelers.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, between Wednesday, November 26, and Monday, December 1, the heaviest travel is expected on Wednesday, when more than 1.8 million vehicles are expected to travel on the Tollway system. On an average day, about 1.6 million daily drivers use the Illinois Tollway.
“It’s fast and easy for I-PASS and Pay By Plate customers to temporarily add rental cars or vehicles driven by family and friends visiting for the holiday to their accounts to conveniently pay tolls,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “Providing these options is part of our commitment to making travel easier and more convenient for our customers.”
Drivers can use the Official Illinois Tollway App or go to www.illinoistollway.com to set up and manage their accounts, including adding license plates of family members or friends traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday. The Pay By Plate service allows drivers to be billed for tolls on the Illinois Tollway when accounts are set up within 14 days of travel, while I-PASS allows drivers with pre-paid accounts to pay tolls in Illinois and 18 other states that participate in the E-ZPass system.
Additionally, to help make travel easier for drivers, the Illinois Tollway will suspend most temporary maintenance and construction lane closures from noon on Wednesday, November 26, through 9 a.m. on Monday, December 1. However, construction may continue in existing work zones to keep work on schedule for ongoing Illinois Tollway construction projects.
In advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Tollway opened a new fly-under ramp that will reduce travel times and congestion while improving safety at the I-290/I-88 Interchange on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294).
The new, two-lane fly-under ramp connecting northbound I-294 to westbound I-290 replaces a single-lane loop ramp that forced cars and trucks to slow to 20 m.p.h. to safely travel the tightly curved ramp before merging onto I-290. The new ramp ultimately is expected to reduce travel times from 10 minutes to 3 minutes for vehicles traveling between I-294 and I-290.
Additionally, the Tollway has opened five lanes in each direction on the Central Tri-State Tollway as it shifted into winter traffic configuration to accommodate ongoing work as the weather allows. Five southbound lanes are open to drivers between Ogden Avenue and I-55, while five northbound lanes are open between I-55 and the Cermak Road Toll Plaza.
Areas where Tollway drivers can expect to see ongoing work include:
Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80)
- On northbound I-294 between St. Charles Road and North Avenue, traffic is shifted to the left into a counterflow configuration.
- On southbound I-294, traffic exiting to eastbound I-290 or westbound I-88 must enter the two right lanes north of St. Charles Road.
- The ramps connecting westbound I-290 to northbound I-294, westbound I-290 to southbound I-294 and westbound Roosevelt Road to southbound I-294 are closed and detours are in place.
- The ramp connecting eastbound Golf Road to northbound I-294 is closed. A detour is posted.
- Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88)
- The ramp from eastbound I-88 to southbound I-294 traffic is reduced to a single lane.
Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90)
The ramp connecting southbound Arlington Heights Road to westbound I-90 is closed and a detour is posted.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
