Tag Archives: Eisenhower Expressway

Tolls on the Eisenhower? Your Voice Matters

By Jen DeSalvo, WLS-AM 890 Traffic

(CHICAGO) The Eisenhower, an arterial expressway that runs east-west along Interstate I-290 from DuPage County into downtown Chicago, needs a face-lift, and the state is asking for input from the people who use the accessway on a daily basis.eisenhower-project-2

The stretch was originally called the “Congress Expressway” when it opened in the 1950’s. It followed the path of the CTA Garfield Park rapid transit branch and connected I-90 in the Schaumburg area to I-90 in downtown Chicago by swinging around the city limits on the west side. eisenhower-project-1

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) said that the area in question is 38 percent over capacity, resulting in the highest travel times of any of the five major Chicago expressways during the morning and afternoon weekday rush periods. This has prohibited access to employment, caused modal connection concerns and created safety issues. These points are just a few reasons for the need of modifications on the Eisenhower.

Peak period travel speeds, as stated by the report, are estimated to be as low as 24 miles per hour in 2010, with projections to slow down by half, doubling travel time, by 2040 is nothing is done. Currently, the Eisenhower Expressway carries 185,100 to 217,700 automobiles daily, but it was only designed to hold 138,000 vehicles.eisenhower-project-travel-times

eisenhower-accident-rateAs far as safety concerns, IDOT alongside the Illinois State Police reported that from 2011-2013, a total of 5,365 crashes and 711 injuries were reported along I-290. That is an average of 1,788 crashes and 237 injuries per year.

HOV and HOT lanes are proposed as a means to help alleviate travel times and accident rates. HOV meaning “high-occupancy vehicle lane” which will cater to carpool vehicles carrying three or more persons. HOT being “high-occupancy toll” lanes which will potentially be different prices based on vehicle size, persons in car and time of the day.

According to EisenhowerExpressway.com, public hearings are to be held January 25th and 26th, 2017 on the I-290 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). This document was made public for comment on December 30, 2017.

Submit your comments to the Eisenhower Expressway commission between December 30, 2016 and February 13, 2017 via this comment form.

Paying for the Need for Speed

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

There’s a new idea to help move traffic faster on the expressways.

How would feel about paying a toll to use a faster lane on a freeway like the Stevenson or Eisenhower?

At the City Club, Illinois Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom was talking up the idea.

“From everything we can hear people are very supportive of these.  If you wanted to come down here like I did today on the Eisenhower and you didn’t want to be late it would have been a very good investment for me to have a managed lane and also made me a little bit less worried about getting here in a timely fashion,” said Schillerstrom.  “So, managed lanes are on the very, you know, top of our list and you know hopefully, we can have some for you to try, on the Stevenson, in the near future.”

But there are bureaucratic roadblocks to clear, like the feds not wanting to let states start charging for the freeways they mostly paid for.

@ 2015 WLS News

Police: Alcohol played a factor in fatal wrong-way crash on Eisenhower

(FOREST PARK)  A Southwest Side man was killed and five other people were injured in what police say was an alcohol related wrong-way crash early Sunday on the Eisenhower Expressway near west suburban Forest Park.

A wrong-way driver’s van and two other vehicles crashed at 4:40 a.m. in the inbound lanes of I-290 at the Des Plaines exit, according to Illinois State Police.

A passenger in the van, 29-year-old Juan Carlos-Salazar, died in the crash, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Carlos-Salazar, of the 6300 block of South Archer, was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:25 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

Five others were hurt, including the wrong-way driver, and they were taken to hospitals, where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The wrong-way driver was charged with DUI and additional charges were pending against him, Illinois State Police said.

Inbound lanes near the site of the crash were closed for more than five hours Sunday morning, but were reopened at 10:10 a.m., Illinois State Police said.

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