Governor Quinn Opens New Ramps Connecting Tri-State Tollway to I-57 in South Suburbs

DOWNERS GROVE - Governor Pat Quinn today opened the new, all-electronic interchange connecting the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and I-57 for the first time. This marks a milestone in the first phase of a $719 million project that will save drivers time and fuel while promoting economic development in the Chicago Southland region. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century infrastructure that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"A new interchange at I-294 and I-57 is a major step in our mission to build a 21st century infrastructure across Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "Without proper infrastructure our economy cannot grow. This project will be a major boost for Chicago's Southland, strengthen the business climate, create jobs and provide residents with safer, more efficient travel throughout the area."

The new ramps built in the first phase of the interchange project create access from northbound I-57 to northbound I-294 and southbound I-294 to southbound I-57, including new ramps at 147th Street. Completion of the first phase will deliver 75 percent of the project's total benefits to the traveling public.

"Southland residents will be able to travel more quickly and easily to work, while local businesses will have new opportunities to reach their customers and transport products to other areas," U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-Matteson) said. "Our towns will find it easier to compete for new businesses and broaden their tax bases."

The new I-294/I-57 Interchange will accommodate approximately 76,000 vehicles per day, provide direct freight access to Chicago's south suburbs and save drivers $4 million annually in fuel consumption. Tri-State Tollway drivers who have been using I-80 to get to I-57 will save 25 travel hours per year using the new interchange. The 147th Street ramps will improve local access, connecting residents to employment opportunities not easily accessible by public transportation.

The $719 million interchange project is a joint effort of the Illinois Tollway and the Illinois Department of Transportation. It is funded through Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program and the Tollway's 15-year, $12 billion Move Illinois capital program. The Tollway and IDOT collectively have budgeted $380 million to complete Phase One of the project and $339 million to complete Phase Two. The full interchange is expected to be completed in 2024.

"The opening of this vital interchange will help residents and businesses in these local communities - particularly Harvey, Markham, Dixmoor and Posen - connect to our state's world-class highway system so they can travel more easily to their jobs or ship the goods they produce across the country," Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said. "The Tollway has invested $1.6 billion in roadway projects in the Chicago Southland in recent years and we know there is still more work to do in this crucial region of the state."

"This project demonstrates how different agencies work together to improve Illinois' transportation network," Acting IDOT Secretary Erica Borggren said. "Everybody benefits when we provide better links to our interstate system for the drivers, businesses and communities that depend on it."

In conjunction with the project, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning partnered with the communities of Dixmoor, Harvey, Markham, Midlothian and Posen to develop an I-294/I-57 Land Use and Economic Development Plan. The study identified key land use opportunities at interchanges and along major arterial corridors that will spur economic development regionally and locally.

The initial phase of the I-294/I-57 Interchange Project created or sustained an estimated 3,300 total jobs, with more than 140 companies receiving contracts for the project.

"This project has put people to work building not only an interchange, but a critical link between highways and local communities that will generate new economic development and create many more jobs for years to come," Chicago Laborer's District Council Business Manager Jim Connolly said. "This construction program is bringing jobs and economic benefits that will stretch across the entire Southland region."

The I-294/I-57 Interchange is the fourth all-electronic interchange on the Tollway system and the first to connect interstate highways, eliminating toll lines, making travel safer and more convenient. Customers who use the new interchange without I-PASS will have 30 days from the date of their unpaid toll to pay online - an extension from the seven days on all other parts of the Tollway system. This extension will expire on Dec. 31, 2014. Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, customers without I-PASS who use the I-294/I-57 Interchange will have seven days to pay their unpaid tolls.

The Illinois Tollway's 15-year, $12 billion capital program Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future will improve mobility, relieve congestion, reduce pollution, create as many as 120,000 jobs and link economies across the Midwest region.

Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.