Gourt Home::Gourt :: Interstate 290 (Illinois)
Interstate 290 (abbreviated I-290) is the main Interstate highway due westward from the Chicago Loop. A portion of I-290 is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. Colloquially it is known as the Eisenhower or the Ike. Before being designated the Eisenhower, the Eisenhower was formerly called Congress Parkway due to the surface street that it became at its eastern terminus in the Loop.
Interstate 290 connects Interstate 90 (Northwest Tollway) in Rolling Meadows with Interstates 90/94 (Kennedy Expressway / Dan Ryan Expressway) near the Loop. The Eisenhower runs along the portion from Interstate 355 (North-South Tollway) in Addison east to the Loop. North of I-355, the freeway is known locally as Illinois Route 53, or simply Route 53, as Illinois 53 existed before Interstate 290. Interstate 290 in total is 29.84 miles (48.02 km) in length.State of Illinois. "Illinois Highway and Street Mileage Statistics". December 31, 2004. http://www.dot.state.il.us/travelstats/mileage.html
Route description
The Eisenhower Expressway is named after former general Dwight D. Eisenhower. It may be divided into four distinct sections:
Northwest Tollway to North-South Tollway
This section is 7 miles (11 km) long and runs from Rolling Meadows to Addison. It is the portion of I-290 more locally known as "Route 53", or informally referred to as the North-South Tollway, though this section is a freeway. Here, Interstate 290 runs largely above-grade through Schaumburg, and at-or-below grade through Itasca and Addison.The northern five miles of the highway were reconstructed in 2003-2004. A left shoulder and auxiliary lane between ramps were added, as well as improved lighting. The highway is four lanes wide (not counting the auxiliary lane) north of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway (mile marker 5), and five lanes wide south to the exit to Interstate 355.
Between mile markers 0 and 4, Illinois Route 53 is multiplexed with this section of the Eisenhower.
Eisenhower Extension
This section is 11 miles (18 km) long and runs from Addison to Hillside. It took its name when the Eisenhower was extended northwest from Hillside. The highway runs largely at-grade or above-grade for this length. U.S. Route 20 is multiplexed on I-290 around Elmhurst from mile markers 12 to 13.This section of I-290 varies in width from two lanes at the ramp east from the I-290/I-355 split, to three lanes between I-355 and U.S. Route 20, to three lanes plus two exit lanes at U.S. Route 20/Illinois Route 64 (Lake Street / North Avenue) (exit 13B). After exit 13B, the highway reverts to three thru traffic lanes. Exit 15 to southbound Interstate 294 is a frequent point of congestion due to ramp traffic backing up onto the mainline highway, often as long as 2 miles (3 km). This is because the ramp is not isolated from the mainline, only one lane in width, is a low-speed ramp (marked as a 35 mph ramp, and is relatively short (1/4 mile, or 1/2 km) while carrying a high volume of truck traffic south to Indiana from North Avenue. Additionally, the sudden appearance of the exit tends to cause accidents when cars in the center lane try to aggressively turn into the right lane, particularly at the mouth of the 294 exit.
The western three miles of this section are blacktop, while east of Illinois Route 83 (exit 10) the original concrete is still in place.
Tri-State Tollway to Austin Boulevard
This section is 7 miles (11 km) long and runs from Hillside to the western border of Chicago. This section can be referred to as "The Avenues", and is arguably the most congested portion of Interstate 290. It is known for having a high number of on-ramps through the Avenues, and switching to left exits at major interesections in Forest Park and Oak Park. Interstate 290 runs above grade west of Mannheim Road, and below grade east of Mannheim Road.Eastbound at Mannheim Road (exit 17), the highway splits into two express and one local lane; they are joined by two onramps from Interstate 88 and form express lanes three lanes wide and local lanes to Mannheim Road two lanes wide. After Mannheim Road, the highway immediately narrows to three lanes in width, causing mile-long (1.6 km) backups. It remains three lanes to Austin Boulevard. Westbound, I-290 merely is three lanes wide to Mannheim Road, and then four lanes wide to the I-88/I-290 split. Exits at Harlem Avenue (exit 22B) and Austin Boulevard (exit 23) are left offramps and onramps, causing backups as trucks switch lanes to exit, and a large volume of traffic enters on the left side of the highway.
In 2001-2002, this section between mile markers 15 and 18 was reconstructed in an attempt to untangle the "Hillside Strangler", adding the local lanes and extra onramp to Interstate 290. Reconstruction of mile markers 18 through 23 is in the planning process, but no funding for construction has been approved as of May 2006.
Austin Boulevard to Chicago Loop
The easternmost section of I-290 is 7 miles (11 km) long and runs entirely through the city of Chicago to the terminus at Interstate 90/94. It runs below grade for its entire length.The road is four lanes wide in both directions for the entire length of the highway, and most onramps and offramps are located two blocks apart. Therefore, an exit in one direction may be marked one street (ex. Laramie Avenue), while the same exit in the other direction may be marked another (ex. Cicero Avenue), even though the streets are only a block apart. This configuration results in most exits on this portion of road being marked as A/B exits.
Eastbound congestion is lighter here than through the Avenues, generally limited to congestion on the tight onramps to the Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways (the Circle Interchange) at the eastern terminus or a blind onramp at Kostner Avenue. Westbound, congestion is heavy at Austin, where the left lane is marked exit only through an interchange with Central Avenue as the highway drops from four lanes to three.
The Eisenhower Expressway runs along blacktop for the length of the section, except between Kostner Avenue and Independence Boulevard, where it runs atop concrete.
History
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Eisenhower was extended to U.S. 20 (Lake Street) and Illinois Route 64 (North Avenue). It was then further extended to present-day Interstate 355, at the time simply a spur from the highway and named Illinois 53. Until 1978, the Eisenhower Expressway was Interstate 90. After the Northwest Tollway was completed, Interstate 90 was routed north along the Kennedy Expressway and onto the tollway. Old Interstate 90 then was named Interstate 290, and that numbering continues to this day.
Because the segment from Interstate 294 to Interstate 355/Illinois 53 was built last, that portion of the highway is referred to as the Eisenhower Extension. The Eisenhower Expressway, extension included, is 23 miles (37 km) long. If the Illinois 53 portion of Interstate 290 is added to that, it is actually 30 miles (48 km) long.
In 2003-2004, the first five miles (8 km) of Interstate 290 out of Schaumburg were rebuilt, replacing pavement that had well exceeded its estimate 20 year life — the original pavement was built in stages from 1963 through 1970 as part of Illinois 53.Carlson, Rick. Illinois State Highways Page: Routes 41 thru 60. Last updated March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2006. A fifth auxiliary lane was added between the entrance and exit ramps of exits 1 and 4, and exits 4 and 5. The most important safety upgrade was the demolition of the raised grassy median between the westbound and eastbound lanes, and its replacement with a permanent concrete median and wide shoulders.
Features
The Chicago Transit Authority maintains a rail line from the loop west to Forest Park in the median of the Eisenhower, and then closely paralleling the Eisenhower for about 10 miles (16 km). While convenient for mass transit, it has also severely limited any possibility of lane additions to the Eisenhower where the train line is. Preliminary studies on such an effort are already starting, however.
Lingo
The Eisenhower Expressway has subsections along its length that are used most often by traffic reporters to describe the extent of congestion on a highway. Users of the highway unfamiliar with these terms can easily be confused by them.
- Hillside Strangler — Named after the Chicago suburb of Hillside, it refers to a major merge with Interstate 88, and almost always is used when referring to inbound (eastbound) traffic. It is at this point that Interstate 88 terminates eastbound. It was called the Strangler because before its reconstruction in the early 2000s, seven through lanes were forced to merge to three, creating large backups. Urban legend suggests a former Columbia College student was the first known to use the expression relating to the traffic pattern in the late 70s during the "Hillside Strangler" murders media craze. Reconstruction widened part of this area to nine lanes (5 inbound — three through, two local, and 4 through lanes outbound), allowed direct exits to Mannheim Road (U.S. Routes 12/20/45) from Interstate 88 for trucks, created an inbound collector-distributor ramp for Mannheim Road, and added a timed gate that closed a ramp from Roosevelt Road (Illinois Route 38) to inbound Interstate 290 during rush hour periods. These improvements helped congestion at the site, but also pushed pre-existing congestion further east to the six lane portion of the highway. The Strangler is located at about mile marker 18.
- The Avenues — The portion of the highway between Mannheim Road at mile marker 17 and First Avenue north of Maywood, a stretch of 3 miles (5 km). Named because all of the crossroads between these two exits are named numerically, in ascending order traveling outbound (westbound). 1st Avenue (Illinois Route 171) is exit 20. There are exits to 9th Avenue, 17th Avenue, and 25th Avenue to the west. These exits are spaced about 3/4ths of a mile (1200 m) apart. This stretch is notorious for being extremely congested, and is one of the higher priority projects in Chicagoland today.
- Eisenhower Extension or 290 Extension — The eight miles (12 km) of road between current-day mile marker 7 (to Lake Street/US 20) and North Avenue (Illinois Route 64), mile marker 15. This section was built in the late 1970s.
- Circle Interchange — The eastern terminus of Interstate 290 where it meets Interstates 90 and 94, which are multiplexed through Chicago. North of this interchange Interstates 90 and 94 are called the Kennedy Expressway, while south of it Interstates 90 and 94 are called the Dan Ryan Expressway. The interchange itself consists of eight heavily used, very tight ramps that wind around each other, giving the interchange a distinct circle shape when looked at from above. This design, adequate when first built in the 1950s, has become a hazardous part of the highway because of its tight turns and extremely short approaches. However, redesign of the interchange has been determined to be prohibitively expensive because of the small, 2-to-4 city-block area that the interchange is built on.
- Post Office — Just east of the I-290 - I-90/94 Junction in downtown Chicago, the Post Office is a building that stretches over Congress Parkway. If one drives eastbound on I-290 and continues past I-90/94, the highway ends and becomes Congress Parkway. The Post Office is a landmark which is sometimes used in referring to the end of I-290 in downtown Chicago; for example, a traffic reporter might say "... forty minutes from Mannheim to the Post Office...".
- The building was used by the United States Postal Service until 1996. It was bought by a developer in 1998, but as of early 2006 no progress has been made with regards to development on the site. The building itself was built from 1921 to 1933 in the Art-Deco style, and is 2.5 million square feet (230,000 m²) in size. The vast majority of the space is away from windows, and as a result has markedly less value than would be expected for a downtown structure. In spite of its unused state, the building is still known to visitors and commuters alike as the unofficial gateway into the Chicago Loop area.Gallun, Alby. "$300M revival plan for Post Office". Crain's Chicago Business July 1, 2005. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16994&rel=1. Retrieved January 12, 2006.
- The Ike — Dwight D. Eisenhower's nick-name, 'Ike', also refers to the Eisenhower Expressway.
Interchanges
This table is incomplete: please feel free to add to it!
| Number | Mile | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highways and/or Control Cities | Municipality | ||||
| None | 0.0 | Interstate 90 (Northwest Tollway) - Rockford, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois Illinois Route 53 - North SuburbsSchaumburg, Illinois | Illinois Route 62 - Algonquin Road on Illinois 53.|||
| 1A-B | 0.75 | Illinois Route 58 - Golf RoadCollector-Distributor exit for Schaumburg, Illinois and the Woodfield Mall. Eastbound exit only accessible from local lanes that also serve Interstate 90. Eastbound uses Woodfield Road as exit to Illinois 58; this is exit 1A. Exit 1B is for Illinois 72 only. Westbound, signed solely as exit 1 and exits to a frontage road with access to all three streets. | |||
| 4 | Illinois Route 53 Southbound - Biesterfield Road | Elk Grove Village, Illinois | Illinois 53 northbound multiplexes with Interstate 290 westbound at this point. | ||
| N/A | Cook/DuPage County Line | ||||
| 5 | Thorndale Avenue - Elgin-O'Hare Expressway | Itasca, Illinois | |||
| 7 | Interstate 355 - Joliet, Illinois | Addison, Illinois | U.S. Route 20 directly. Eastbound requires following Interstate 355 to reach U.S. 20.|||
| 10A-B | Illinois Route 83 - Kingery Highway | Full cloverleaf interchange to northbound and southbound Illinois 83. | |||
| 12 | U.S. Route 20 West - Lake Street, York Road | Elmhurst, Illinois | U.S. 20 eastbound multiplexes with Interstate 290 eastbound. | ||
| 13A-B | Illinois Route 64 - North Avenue | ||||
| 14A-B | St. Charles Road | Full cloverleaf interchange to eastbound and westbound St. Charles Road. No trucks permitted eastbound. | |||
| 15 | Interstate 294 southbound (Tri-State Tollway) - Indiana | Hillside, Illinois | Interstate 88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) - Aurora, Illinois via southbound Interstate 294.|||
| N/A | DuPage/Cook County Line | ||||
| 15A-B | Interstate 294 (Tri-State Tollway) - Indiana, Wisconsin Interstate 88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) - Aurora, Illinois | Hillside, Illinois | Illinois Route 38 (Roosevelt Road) and southbound Interstate 294 via westbound Interstate 88 exit. Exits are 1/4 mile (400 m) apart.|||
| 16 | Wolf Road | Westbound exit only. Eastbound entrance ramps to exit 17 collector-distributor ramps. | |||
| 17 | US 20.svgUS 45.svg U.S. Routes 12/20/45 - Mannheim Road | Eastbound exit accessible via collector/distributor ramp. | |||
| N/A | Addison Creek | ||||
| 18A-B | 25th Avenue | Maywood, Illinois | Partial cloverleaf interchange with exits to north and south 25th Avenue. | ||
| 19A | 17th Avenue | Full interchange. | |||
| 19B | 9th Avenue | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance. | |||
| 20 | Illinois Route 171 - 1st Avenue | ||||
| N/A | Des Plaines River | ||||
| 21A | Des Plaines Avenue | Oak Park, Illinois | Westbound entrance; eastbound exit. | ||
| 21B | 21.7 | Illinois Route 43 - Harlem AvenueLeft exit/entrance. | |||
| 23A | 23.2 | Austin Boulevard (6000 West) | Left exit/entrance. | ||
| 23B | Central Avenue (5600 West) | Chicago, Illinois | |||
| 24A | Laramie Avenue (5200 West) | Westbound exit; eastbound entrance | |||
| 24B | Illinois Route 50 - Cicero Avenue (4800 West) | Westbound entrance; eastbound exit | |||
| 25 | Kostner Avenue (4400 West) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance | |||
| 26A | Independence Boulevard (3800 west) | ||||
| 27A? | Kedzie Avenue (3200 West) | Westbound entrance, eastbound exit | |||
| 27B? | Sacramento Avenue (2800 West) | Westbound exit, eastbound entrance | |||
| 27C | Western Avenue (2400 West) - Oakley Street (2300 West) | Oakley Street is first cross street on westbound exit ramp. | |||
| 28A | Damen Avenue (2000 West) | ||||
| 28B? | Ashland Avenue (1600 West) - Paulina Avenue (1700 West) | ||||
| 29A | Racine Avenue (1200 West) | Westbound entrance, eastbound exit. | |||
| 29B | Morgan Avenue (1000 West) | Westbound exit only. | |||
| None | 29.84 | I-94.svg Interstates 90/94 (Kennedy Expressway / Dan Ryan Expressway) - Indiana, WisconsinEastern terminus of Interstate 290. Also known as the Circle Interchange. | |||
External links
- Eisenhower Expressway Reconstruction Site — Reconstruction planned for I-290 west of Chicago. Entering preliminary design in 2005.
- N9JIG's Illinois Highways Page — Routes 203 and up
- Kurumi's 3di page — I-290
- Illinois Highways
- Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 290
References
Three-digit Interstate Highways | Interstate Highways in Illinois | Chicago area expressways
"Interstate 290 (Illinois)"
