Jane Addams Tollway
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Interstate 90 (I-90) in the US state of
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runs roughly northwest-to-southeast through the northern part of the state. From the
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state line at South Beloit, it heads south to Rockford before heading east-southeast to the
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state line at
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. I-90 traverses through a variety of settings, from farmland west of the Fox River Valley through the medium-density suburbs west of
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
, through
Downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district (CB ...
, and through the heart of the industrial southeast side of Chicago before entering Indiana. I-90 comprises several named highways. The Interstate runs along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (previously called the Northwest Tollway) from South Beloit to O'Hare Airport, the
Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the ...
from O'Hare to the
Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...
, the
Dan Ryan Expressway The Dan Ryan Expressway, often called "the Dan Ryan" by locals, is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Jane Byrne Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated ...
from the Loop to the Chicago Skyway, and the Skyway to the Indiana state line. The Jane Addams and Chicago Skyway are
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
s maintained by the
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Illinois charged with building, operating, and maintaining toll roads in the state. The roads, as well as the authority itself, are sometimes refer ...
(ISTHA) and the Skyway Concession Company (SCC), respectively. The remainder of the highway is maintained by the
Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers f ...
(IDOT).


Route description

I-90 enters Illinois from
Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...
concurrently with I-39. At Exit 1 (South Beloit), US Route 51 (US 51) joins the two interstates; between the exit and the state line marks the only point US 51 and I-39 are not concurrent in Illinois. In Rockton, I-39/I-90/US 51 becomes the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, with the South Beloit Toll Plaza south of the interchange. The three highways first enter the Rockford region at Illinois Route 173, passing by
Rock Cut State Park Rock Cut State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of Illinois. Located near Rockford in Winnebago County, it covers , enveloping Pierce Lake and Olson Lake. Rock Cut Park's main entrance is located on Highway 173, 1 mile west of Intersta ...
; its first interchange with
US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Highway, United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major ...
is with the business route (State Street) connecting Rockford and Belvidere. At Cherry Valley, I-90 splits with I-39/US-51 (the latter becomes concurrent for US 20 for five more miles before moving south to Normal.), with I-90 making a 90-degree turn east. Crossing eastward, I-90 (now signed as a single highway) crosses the
Kishwaukee River The Kishwaukee River, locally known as simply The Kish, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Illinois.. United States Board on ...
before entering Boone County. From this point to the eastern terminus of both highways in Massachusetts, I-90 and US 20 run a roughly parallel routing (though with no concurrency). After passing in front of the Stellantis
Belvidere Assembly Plant The Belvidere Assembly Plant (BVAP) is a currently idled automobile production facility that will be later restarted, that is owned and operated by Stellantis North America. The factory opened in 1965 in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, and l ...
and a westbound toll plaza, the only remaining
Illinois Tollway oasis An Illinois Tollway oasis is a type of commercialized rest area sited over Interstate Highways that are part of the Illinois Tollway system in northern Illinois, United States. The four (formerly seven) oases offer food and gasoline vendors an ...
above I-90 is located in Belvidere. The over-highway design provides several vendors in a single location, allowing tollway travelers to rest, eat, and refuel without exiting the tollway. Turning southeast towards McHenry County, I-90 does not have an interchange for another , until Illinois Route 23 (IL 23) in
Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...
(five miles south of Marengo). Following the interchange, eastbound traffic passes through the Marengo Toll Plaza. Entering Kane County, I-90 has a third interchange with US 20, connecting to
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. As it passes its Randall Road exit, I-90 transitions from the rural farmland seen in Boone and McHenry counties to the western terminus of the Chicago suburbs. Following the east/west Elgin Toll Plaza, I-90 widens from six to eight lanes, turning east in direction. Before crossing into Cook County, I-90 crosses the Fox River, entering the
Golden Corridor The Golden Corridor is the area around the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90), formerly known as the Northwest Tollway, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its name refers to the "gold" mine of economic profit for communities in the area ...
of Illinois. Before meeting I-290, the tollway passes through Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg, routed through a wide variety of surroundings, including housing, retail centers, and forest preserves. Following the Barrington Road exit, active traffic management gantries are in place. In Schaumburg, I-90 becomes the northern terminus of I-290 (the only Illinois loop of I-90). Turning further southeast towards Elk Grove Village, I-90 is widened from eight to ten lanes. At Elmhurst Road (Illinois 83), the tollway is narrowed to eight lanes, passing north of
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
. Prior to passing through I-190/I-294 (Tri-State Tollway), Rosemont has a final toll plaza on Devon Avenue (westbound) and River Road (eastbound). The Tri-State Tollway interchange marks the eastern terminus of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, with I-90 subsequently becoming a freeway called the
Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the ...
. After crossing the Des Plaines River, the Kennedy Expressway enters Chicago. After turning southeast, I-90 joins I-94 (
Edens Expressway Iens () is a small village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province Friesland of the Netherlands with a population of around 32 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Ederinghe, and means "settlement of the ...
), heading further southeast. Taking on the path of the Chicago River, the Kennedy Expressway becomes the
Dan Ryan Expressway The Dan Ryan Expressway, often called "the Dan Ryan" by locals, is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Jane Byrne Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated ...
following its intersection of the
Jane Byrne Interchange The Jane Byrne Interchange (until 2014, Circle Interchange) is a major freeway Interchange (road), interchange near Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois, known locally as "The Lady in the Middle". It is the junction between the Dan Ryan Exp ...
(passing the
Eisenhower Expressway Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs westward from the Jane Byrne Interchange near the Chicago Loop. The portion of I-290 from Interstate 294, I-294 to its east end is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhowe ...
). After crossing I-55 (
Stevenson Expressway Stevenson is an English language patronymic surname meaning "son of Steven". Its first historical record is from pre-10th-century England. Another origin of the name is as a toponymic surname related to the place Stevenstone in Devon, England. Th ...
), I-90 continues nearly due south. In the Englewood neighborhood, I-90 splits from I-94, becoming the six-lane
Chicago Skyway Interstate 90 (I-90) in the US state of Illinois runs roughly northwest-to-southeast through the northern part of the state. From the Wisconsin state line at South Beloit, Illinois, South Beloit, it heads south to Rockford, Illinois, Ro ...
. Turning southeast, the highway crosses the
Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former ...
before continuing into
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.


History


Jane Addams Memorial Tollway

The Northwest Tollway portion of I-90 opened on August 20, 1958. Prior to the opening, the first vehicle to officially travel the new roadway was a
covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...
navigated by local resident John Madsen who took five days to make the journey. On September 7, 2007, highway officials responding to an effort by state lawmakers renamed the Northwest Tollway to Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, after
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...
, the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
winner and founder of the
Settlement House The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity an ...
movement in the US. The Illinois Tollway's 2005–2012 Congestion-Relief Program provided $644.1 million (equivalent to $ in ) in projects along the I-90 corridor. Projects included rebuilding and widening of the tollway between I-39 and Rockton Road, including a reconfiguration of the I-90/I-39 interchange. This construction started in 2008 and was completed by the end of 2009. From 2013 to 2016, over $2 billion (equivalent to $ in ) was spent on rebuilding and widening the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway from I-39 to the Kennedy Expressway. The inside shoulders were widened for future transit opportunities, and active traffic management was incorporated into the corridor from IL 59 to the eastern end. In addition, almost all of the crossroad bridges were rebuilt and several interchanges were reconfigured/expanded. In 2019, a $33.4-million (equivalent to $ in ) interchange with IL 23 was added near Marengo to provide the first I-90 interchange in McHenry County. Until 1978, I-90 was routed on the Congress Street Expressway (later named the Eisenhower Expressway) which was extended from the Loop to the interchange of the Northwest Tollway and IL 53. The Kennedy Expressway was signed only as I-94, and the portion of present-day I-90 between the Edens Expressway and IL 53 was not signed as an Interstate Highway. This provided a non-toll section of I-90 between Downtown Chicago and IL 53. The route designations were changed to their present form when I-90 was moved to follow the entire length of the Kennedy Expressway and the Jane Addams Tollway, and the original route was designated I-290. In 2018, ISTHA raised the speed limit on I-90 from from the I-39 split to Randall Road. They also raised it from from Randall Road to Mount Prospect Road and raised it from from Mount Prospect Road to the Kennedy. The speed limit for buses is , and the speed limit for trucks is .


Chicago Skyway

The Chicago Skyway was originally known as the Calumet Skyway. It cost $101 million (equivalent to $ in ) to construct and took about 34 months (nearly three years) to build. Nearly of elevated roadway, the Chicago Skyway was originally built as a shortcut for cars from State Street, a major north–south street on
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's South Side that serves the Loop, to the steel mills on the Southeast to the Indiana state line where the
Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...
begins. Later, when the
Dan Ryan Expressway The Dan Ryan Expressway, often called "the Dan Ryan" by locals, is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Jane Byrne Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated ...
opened, the Chicago Skyway was extended west to connect to it. There are only two eastbound exits east of the toll barrier, whereas there are four westbound exits west of the toll barrier (so that no exits are available until one has crossed the bridge and paid the toll). The Chicago Skyway opened to traffic on April 16, 1958. The Skyway's official name, referring to it as a "toll bridge" rather than a "toll road", is the result of a legal quirk. At the time of its construction, the city charter of Chicago did not provide the authority to construct a toll road. However, the city could build toll bridges, and it was found that there was no limit to the length of the approaches to the bridge. Therefore, the Skyway is technically a toll bridge spanning the
Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former ...
with a approach. This also is part of the reason that there are no exits available until after one has crossed the bridge and paid the toll. Historically, the Chicago Skyway was signed as, and was widely considered to be part of, I-90 from the mid-1960s forward (after I-90 in this area had been swapped with I-94). However, from around 1999 until 2022, the
Chicago Department of Transportation The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT ) is an executive department of the City of Chicago responsible for the safety, environmental sustainability, maintenance, and aesthetics of the surface transportation networks and public ways withi ...
worked under a new assumption that they had never received official approval to designate the Skyway as I-90. The city subsequently replaced most of the "I-90" signage with "TO I-90/I-94" signage. IDOT has always reported and continues to report the Skyway as part of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
, and the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
(FHWA) also does consider the Chicago Skyway's roadway as I-90 unless IDOT revokes their designation of such. As of 2022, the Skyway is again signed as I-90, though now denoted with non-standard oversized shields constructed by CDOT. In the 1960s, the newly constructed Dan Ryan Expressway and the neighboring Calumet, Kingery, and Borman expressways provided free alternatives to the tollway, and the Skyway became much less used. As a result, from the 1970s through the early 1990s, the Skyway was unable to repay revenue bonds used in its construction. Traffic volumes rebounded from the late 1990s onward, partially because of the construction of
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s in
Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed "The Region" after the Calumet Region, is an unofficial region of Northern Indiana, northern Indiana, United States that is located at the northwestern corner of the state. Though there is no official definition of th ...
, along with reconstruction of the Dan Ryan, Kingery, and Borman expressways. In June 2005, the Skyway became compatible with
electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
, with users now able to pay tolls using I-Pass or
E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...
transponders. Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation formerly maintained the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System. A 2004 transaction that gave the city a $1.83-billion (equivalent to $ in ) cash infusion leased the Skyway to the Skyway Concession Company, a joint-venture between the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Spanish
Cintra Cintra, S.A. (Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, translated as Toll Transport Infrastructures) is one of the largest private developers of transport infrastructure in the world. Its assets are fundamentally toll roads and car parks, ...
, which assumed operations on the Skyway on a 99-year operating lease. The agreement between the Skyway Concession Company and the City of Chicago marked the first time an existing toll road was moved from public to private operation in the US. Until the summer of 2015, to the south of the toll plaza, an unusually-placed
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
restaurant and its parking lot (including a drive-thru) sat in the median of the toll approach as a ''de facto'' rest stop before leaving or entering Chicago. The franchisee terminated the lease with the SCC shortly before, blaming closure on the declining profits as the restaurant was more popular for its restrooms than the food it offered. The McDonald's building was later torn down, and the toll approach was further expanded upon its former footprint.


Exit list


Related routes

I-90 has two related
auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a subset of highways within the United States' Interstate Highway System. The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes, which connect to or i ...
s within Illinois. I-190 is a spur into
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
in Chicago that is also known as the Kennedy Expressway O'Hare Extension or the O'Hare Expressway. I-290 takes a southeasterly dogleg left route accessing the western suburbs and heading eastward into Downtown Chicago. It is also known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. A third route, the Western O'Hare Beltway, is under construction and has been designated I-490. This new route, passing along the west side of O'Hare between I-90 and I-294, is expected to open in 2026.


See also

*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois This is a list of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in the United States, U.S. state of Illinois. Bridges Notes References

{{HAER list, structure=bridge Bridges in Illinois, *List Historic American Engine ...


References


External links


Illinois Tollway official siteOfficial website of the Chicago SkywayChicago Department of Transportation
at Richard Carlson's Illinois Highways *
Best of Transportation PageChicago Skyway (I-90)
at Steve Anderson's ChicagoRoads.com * * {{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =
Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former ...
, bridge = Chicago Skyway , bridge signs = , upstream = East 100th Street Bridge , upstream signs = , downstream =
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern-ow ...
bridge , downstream signs =
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
Expressways in the Chicago area 90 Transportation in Winnebago County, Illinois Transportation in Boone County, Illinois Transportation in McHenry County, Illinois Transportation in Kane County, Illinois Transportation in Cook County, Illinois