Crews make strides in interchange project
Motorists cruising along Interstates 57 and 294 through the south suburbs in recent months have seen a lot of progress on a mammoth $719 million project to connect the two highways.
This year in particular, crews have made huge strides building soaring flyover ramps that will carry vehicles high above the ground at expressway speeds.
When the massive project wraps up late next year, drivers from Markham, Midlothian, Harvey, Dixmoor, Posen and other towns will shave minutes off their daily commutes, saving time and money.
Trucks carrying packages to and from a nearby Amazon fulfillment center in Markham will be able to quickly access I-57 via the Tri-State Tollway at 159th Street instead of having to travel along Dixie Highway for more than a mile to access I-57 at Sibley Boulevard.
The concept for the project dates back to the origins of the Eisenhower Interstate System in the 1950s. But because of cost and engineering challenges, the two interstate highways crossed without connecting, a rarity in the American highway network.
“It unlocks tremendous economic potential for all the south suburban communities,” former Gov. Pat Quinn said of the project. “The fact they weren’t connecting made the south suburbs less desirable than they should be.”
Long before Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program, Quinn spearheaded the $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now program. Quinn, was governor from 2009 to 2015, said the I-294/I-57 interchange project was a cornerstone of his jobs program.
“The funding in that bill I thought should be devoted to connecting these two major roads, to open the door for people in the south suburbs, especially in logistics, to have a real chance to grow their local economies and create jobs in their own backyards,” Quinn told me.
The Illinois Tollway took the lead on the project through its massive Move Illinois program. The largest public works campaign in the agency’s history includes
$4 billion to rebuild the Central Tri-State Tollway between 95th Street in Chicago Ridge and Balmoral Avenue, near O’Hare Airport.
The Illinois Department of Transportation partnered on the interchange project, since I-57 is under its jurisdiction. Land acquisition began in 2011. An initial phase completed in 2014 included ramps that connected southbound I-294 with southbound I-57 and northbound I-57 with northbound I-294. Also completed were ramps from the southbound Tri-State to 147th Street and from 147th to the Tri-State’s northbound lanes.
The state spent $17.8 million to acquire 320 properties. The Tollway acquired 252 parcels and IDOT handled 68 acquisitions, according to the International Right of Way Association. The group awarded the interchange job its 2014 Project of the Year Award.
“The Illinois Tollway has raised the bar for interstate right of way projects with its completion of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294)/I-57 Interchange Project,” the group said. “Despite some unique challenges, the project team went above and beyond to achieve success by creating innovative programs and implementing creative solutions.”
Quinn said he recalled attending an event that celebrated a major milestone in the project.
“I remember when we laid the first beam for the connection,” he said. “I went down there, they gave me a magic marker. I wrote my name on the beam that is now buried, I’m sure, in concrete.”
Work on the second phase began in 2019 and includes ramps connecting southbound I-57 to both directions of I-294 and linking northbound I-294 to northbound I-57.
Motorists shifted into a different configuration through the work zone in recent days, the Tollway said. Work will continue through the winter on bridges, median walls, roadway signage, lighting and utility work.
“The Tollway expects the I-294/I-57 Interchange Project to be completed on budget and on time, with the new portion of the interchange opening by the end of 2022,” said Dan Rozek, the Tollway’s senior manager of communications.
The interchange will improve access to interstate travel in virtually any direction. The new interchange is located relatively close to where I-57 intersects with I-80, an eastwest artery that runs from coast to coast.
The level of investment shows the state’s commitment to addressing disparities that have affected the region, Quinn said.
“The south suburbs sometimes get overlooked by everybody,” he said.
The scale of the work is impressive. Huge cranes hoist giant steel beams into place. Pumping equipment lifts concrete to bridge ramp decks high above the ground. A big part of the reason the two highways lacked a connection for more than 50 years is because it is such a big job to connect them.
“Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood,” Chicago architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham famously said.
The massive interchange project has been years in the making. “It shows when you want to do something really big it’s going to take some time and you’ve got to be committed to it,” Quinn said.
Now that the project is nearing completion, communities are poised to benefit from increased economic investment.
“When the mayors from the south suburbs would come to visit me once a year at the State Capitol I made it very clear to them I thought this project was going to be indispensable to their communities in terms of jobs and economic growth,” Quinn said.
It’s exciting to see the progress of this massive project and good to think about how many people in the region will benefit once the work is completed in less than a year.
“By making this huge investment we’re going to make sure we unlock the great potential of many south suburban communities that have been literally locked away by the failure of the two big roads to connect to each other,” Quinn said.