State of Illinois Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor Getting Ready for Major Work on the How to Get Around — Stay Informed Illinois Department of Transportation Rebuilding and Widening of Tri-State Illinois Tollway Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago Tollway Also Starts This Spring Beat the Backups During Road Construction Season 2005 EDITION www.KingeryExpressway.com www.IllinoisTollway.com The Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) is In early spring, the Illinois Tollway What can the individual motorist do to relieve the pain of scheduled for its final year of advance work Illinois Department of Transportation will reconstruct and widen 5.4 miles of construction zone tie-ups? Plenty. in 2005. Drivers should expect ongoing www.dot.il.gov the south Tri-State Tollway (I-80/294) Share the Ride: Congestion would be a thing of the past if ramp, frontage road and Skyway Inter- between Ill. Rte. 394 in South Holland everyone doing a solo behind-the-wheel act would accept a passenger Kingery Expressway Project change reconstruction throughout the 2005 and 167th St. in Hazel Crest. Later in to share the ride and split the cost. “By carpooling you are accom- www.KingeryExpressway.com (312) DOT-INFO construction season, especially at night. 90/94 2005, phase II will extend the project to 95th Street in Oak Lawn. plishing a voluntary, cost-effective commuting alternative that Dan Ryan Expressway Project But the main Dan Ryan roadway recon- “Reconstructing and widening this section of road to four lanes benefits you, your community, your company and your fellow www.DanRyanExpressway.com (312) DOT-INFO struction will not take place for another year. will provide congestion relief and reduce travel times,” said Illinois commuters,” says the Chicago-area carpooling Web site. What’s more, Major lane closures will be in effect during the 2006 Illinois Tollway Tollway Executive Director Jack Hartman. people with a one-way and 2007 construction seasons. www.IllinoisTollway.com (800)-TOLL-FYI The southern portion of this project is being coordinated with commute of at least 15 miles By the end of 2007, Ryan users will see improved lighting, better Official Project Web Site the Illinois Department of Transportation and Indiana Depart- and who consistently work Borman Expressway Project drainage (reducing flooding), more lanes and more attractive landscaping. www.KingeryExpressway.com ment of Transportation. Each agency is coordinating to work in regular schedules are good www.ai.org/dot/div/specialprojects/borman Many of the bridges over the Ryan are being rebuilt. Lane and ramp tandem and reduce impact to motorists. candidates for a vanpool. More information is available at configurations will change, eliminating much of the unsafe weaving Report problems on the highway, get help “On the northern portion of the Tri-State, we also will be www.KingeryExpressway.com. Click on the “Share the Drive” icon. that has plagued the expressway for years. From cell phones: *999 coordinating with Cook County officials,” Hartman said. Tune in to Traffic: In the Chicago area, there’s no way to predict A New Southland Corridor Chicagoland Expressway Travel Times traffic conditions. Before getting on the expressway, tune to any www.gcmtravel.com Congestion Relief is On the Way to the Kingery, South Tri-State, Bishop Ford and Borman Chicago radio or television station that carries frequent traffic traffic patterns, and respect the posted 45 mile-per-hour speed limit. reports. (Traffic reporters typically refer to the Kingery as “80/94.”) Ridesharing/Carpooling Information Message from Sec. Martin www.sharethedrive.org (312) 793-3456 Please watch your speed and be extra alert in the Kingery and other IDOT travel time and lane closure information is also available Message from Illinois Continued from p. 1 online at www.KingeryExpressway.com. Once there, click on the work zones so the workers can safely return home to their families and Regional Transportation Authority Transportation Secretary loved ones. “GCM Travel” icon. www.rtachicago.com 836-7000 (from any area code) IDOT and its sister agencies, the Illinois Tollway and Indiana Shift Your Time: Leave earlier or later, depending on traffic Timothy W. Martin Department of Transportation (INDOT), are creating a safer, wider IDOT went to considerable extra effort to design an ambitious, efficient schedule to minimize impacts to east-west traffic and through- conditions. Leaving just a little later might save a lot of time. and state-of-the-art expressway to meet the transportation demands of Work at Home: Today’s technology makes it possible to work Highway Traffic Emergencies the 21st Century. This is a massive, complex and coordinated project. out the corridor. All drivers should allow extra time when traveling through the area, anywhere. Ask your employer if you can work one day a week from Dial *999 from cell phones The project is addressing three major needs: Capacity, traffic flow, and home, or from a more convenient satellite office. We’re on deteriorating pavement. especially during weekday mornings and evenings, and the peak summer the Move To stay ahead of that weekends. But, the two-year reconstruction will be worth it. That’s my to Improve demand, IDOT is adding a lane commitment to you. Thank you in advance for your patience. IDOT is on the move to improve for you! Rebuilding an expressway is different from just about rural areas; 55 mph near more densely populated areas. For You

in each direction, constructing A safer, wider ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ any other type of construction project. Workers are In rural highway work zones when workers are not new bridges and interchanges, putting their lives at risk, working only inches from present, the speed limit is 55 mph. and state-of-the-art and, generally, reconfiguring IDOT has highest DBE goal in U.S. traffic whizzing by at high speeds. In 2004, 38 people In more densely populated areas, the work zone speed expressway for the lanes and ramps to modern and In the past two years, IDOT has made an unprecedented effort to were killed in work zone related accidents. Show your limit is always 45 mph whether or not workers are 21st Century. As safer design standards, all to Sec. Martin increase minority contracting (legally referred to as Disadvantaged appreciation for the people who are risking their lives to present (applies to Kingery and Dan Ryan work zones). Illinois' Secretary of serve the heavy car and truck Welcome to Illinois—Artist’s rendering of I-80/94 (Kingery Expressway) facing west from Business Enterprises, or DBEs) on all IDOT projects. build our highways. Here’s the current Illinois law: FINES: $375 for first offense; $1,000 for each Transportation, traffic throughout the Southland Indiana, showing additional lanes and soundwalls as highway will appear at project completion IDOT increased its DBE goal from 14 to 22 percent—one of the WHEN WORKERS ARE PRESENT: Motorists subsequent offense. The penalty for hitting a road that's my commitment for I-80/94. Sign of the Times—Drivers need Corridor. in late 2006. Wentworth Ave. overpass is shown in foreground. highest in the nation—to show the state’s commitment to DBE should never exceed 45 mph when crews are at work. worker is up to 14 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Two years ago, the Illinois Depart- to allow extra time when traveling Anyone who has tried to get participation. ment of Transportation embarked on the through the Southland Corridor, WHEN WORKERS ARE NOT PRESENT: Learn more about work zone safety by visiting The ‘Road Doctors’ Are at Work I-65 in Indiana. Unsafe lane weaving and from the outbound Bishop Ford In addition, IDOT opened the DBE Resource Center (900 S. Des journey to rebuild I-80/94, also known as especially during weekday Interstate speed limits vary in Illinois. It’s 65 mph in www.dot.il.gov/workzone/workzone.html. The Robert Kingery Expressway the roadway’s infamous traffic jams will to the Torrence Avenue exit— Plaines, Chicago, Ill.) where, among many other things, DBEs may go the Kingery Expressway. mornings and evenings, and the (I-80/94 in Chicago’s southern be greatly reduced. darting across three lanes of big to learn how to do business with the state and receive free supportive We have prepped the road and nearby peak summer weekends. suburbs) is undergoing open “The ‘Road Doctors’ campaign truck traffic—will see that the services including software training and bidding procedures. routes for the main roadway reconstruc- highway surgery. A massive brings home the point that the complex design and construction effort is necessary. For more information about doing business with IDOT, please call tion scheduled to begin this year. Weather reconstruction project, costing engineers and construction The centerpiece of the Southland Corridor work is I-80/94, the the DBE Resource Center at (312) 939-1100. permitting, on March 5th IDOT crews

upwards of $400 million, is taking crews are like medical specialists,” Kingery Expressway. IDOT is helping coordinate a multi-agency ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ and contractors will start preparing lanes place. When major work on the notes Tim Martin, Illinois Secretary effort to communicate to the public about the Southland Corridor and ramps for the 2005 construction Kingery and the Tri-State Tollway of Transportation. “That’s why our reconstruction. By the end of 2007, the coordinated efforts of IDOT, Who Are the Road Doctors? season. It will be a lot of work, it will (I-294) wraps up in Fall 2006, drivers will public education materials feature images of Illinois Tollway and INDOT will result in rebuilt roads, new bridges In billboards along the Kingery Expressway, Mary Ellen Mack (see require a lot of patience and it will be enjoy four lanes of travel in each direction IDOT engineers wearing stethoscopes (see p. and an additional lane for traffic all the way from I-65 in Indiana to bottom of p. 6) and Jeff Washington are wearing lab coats and stetho- worth it. between 167th Street along the Tri-State and 6 for billboard example),” says Martin. 95th St. along the Tri-State Tollway. scopes, ready to perform surgery on ailing highways. In reality, they are The 80/94 effort is more than just the Continued on p. 2 In the past 50-plus years since it opened, I-80/94 has evolved into engineers on IDOT’s construction projects. Billboard headlines like reconstruction of a road. It's the renewal a major east-west route for interstate commerce. Good roads are vital “Working on a cure for rush hour,” and “Performing open highway What You Need to Know for 2005 of a corridor, the Southland Corridor, to the economy and the Kingery Expressway remains a crucial link in surgery” are designed to inject a light note into what might be an which includes the Kingery, the south the national transportation network. Its condition, and that of otherwise painful construction season. On I-80/94, both directions from the On Ill. Rte. 394, one lane in each end of the Tri-State Tollway and the surrounding roads, is important to the continued economic develop- Future campaigns along both the Dan Ryan and the Kingery are state line to the Tri-State Tollway (I-80/ direction from Thornton-Lansing Rd. to Borman Expressway in Indiana. The Bishop Ford (I-94). Expect backups. ment in the South Suburbs and elsewhere in Illinois. expected to feature construction workers from the neighboring communi- I-294), all existing lanes maintained region is booming. As the traveling public, we need to ensure the safety of the men ties to bring attention to work zone safety. The message: Road Doctors during daytime hours, but expect lane Access to the Torrence Ave. exit will not closures at night, especially after 10 p.m. Housing and commerce have and women rebuilding the ailing roadway. We owe it to these workers are real people—and they might even be your neighbors—who are be available to motorists using the expanded south and southwest in a major to use caution through construction zones, pay attention to changing risking their lives to build safer, less-congested roads for you. Drivers should expect similar configura- outbound Bishop Ford to eastbound way and this has had a major impact on tions along I-80/294 thru 167th Street, Kingery. Watch for detour signs. the transportation network. I-294 Inside: Kingery Expressway News and Information and thru 95th St. later in 2005. See map and other details inside. Continued on p. 5 © 2005 Illinois Department of Transporation

YES_KingeryNewsletter.pmd 1 3/7/05, 6:24 PM just south of Thornton-Lansing Rd. Expect delays. Westbound I-80/94 (from Borman Expressway) • A 45 m.p.h. work zone speed The ramp to eastbound I-80/94 will be closed intermit- Looking to the Future of I-80/94 limit will be strictly enforced. Construction: 2005 During the day, all lanes remain open to traffic (three lanes tently for reconstruction and the ramp to the northbound • Local traffic should expect some from Burnham to I-94 ramp; two lanes from I-94 to west of Ill. Tri-State Tollway (westbound I-80/294) will be closed for Rte. 394), but drivers should expect lane shifts and narrowed frontage roads to be closed or Tri-State Tollway (I-80/294) reconstruction. lanes. At night, there will be frequent lane closures. Drivers relocated during the reconstruc- When reconstruction begins later this spring, all lanes will be maintained during For both ramps, drivers should follow posted detours via should expect delays at all times. The section of I-80/94 from tion. the day (three lanes in each direction from 167th Street in Hazel Crest to Ill. Rte. inbound Bishop Ford to 159th St. West exit. Calumet Ave. (U.S. 41) in Indiana to Burnham Ave. is sched- 394 in South Holland), but drivers should expect lane shifts, narrowed lanes and • Longer travel times and heavier- uled to begin late spring. than-normal traffic volumes frequent nighttime lane closures. Delays should be expected at all times. All lanes will be maintained during the day, but drivers Eastbound I-80/294 (Tri-State Tollway) and I-80/94 should be expected throughout For more info about the Tri-State work, please visit www.illinoistollway.com. the South Suburban and North- should expect frequent nighttime lane closures. Delays (Kingery Expressway) west Indiana region on roads should be expected at all time. During the day, all lanes remain open [two lanes from adjacent to I-80/94 due to the Outbound Bishop Ford Expressway (Eastbound I-94) west of Ill. Rte. 394 to I-94 merge; three lanes from I-94 reconstruction project. Traffic will be down to two lanes beginning at 159th Street. merge to Calumet Ave. (U.S. 41) in Indiana], but drivers Torrence Ave. Interchange (U.S. 6/Ill. Rte. 83) During the day, two lanes of traffic will be maintained. At night, drivers should should expect lane shifts and narrowed lanes. At night, • Timing for reconstruction shown Construction is ongoing in this area thru fall 2005 with one expect frequent lane closures and delays. there will be frequent lane closures. Drivers should on map is Spring-Fall 2005, lane open in each direction at Torrence over I-80/94 due to expect delays at all times. unless otherwise noted. Traffic seeking access to Torrence Ave. destinations should follow a posted bridge reconstruction. detour by exiting 159th St. East (US 6). Before Construction • Overall project completion is Drivers should expect intermittent ramp closures and delays. expected Fall 2006. • As an alternate detour, drivers may proceed east on I-80/94 to the Calumet Any temporary detours will be posted. Inbound Bishop Ford Expwy (Westbound I-94) Ave. (U.S. 41) interchange in Indiana and return on westbound I-80/94 to Expect lane shifts, narrow lanes and merging traffic from • No trucks allowed on Ridge Rd. Torrence Ave. northbound Ill. Rte. 394. Thornton-Lansing Rd. Bridge at Ill. Rte. 394 • Eastbound I-94 traffic is prohibited from exiting to Torrence Ave. During the day, traffic will be down to two lanes of traffic. The bridge is closed for reconstruction thru summer 2005. For eastbound I-80/94, stay left. Two lanes of traffic will merge to one lane just At night, frequent lane closures will be commonplace. Drivers should follow posted detour. before I-80. Drivers should expect delays at all times in this area. I-80/94 (Kingery Expressway) heading east on approach to Torrence Ave. (Ill. Rte. 83) For southbound Ill. Rte. 394, traffic down to one lane thru Thornton-Lansing Rd. The ramp to 159th St. East (U.S. 6) will Expect delays. Northbound Ill. Rte. 394 be closed for reconstruction. Follow NEW FEATURES For northbound Tri-State Tollway, stay right. Traffic will be down to one lane in each direction beginning posted detour using 159th St. West exit. • Concrete walls to insulate neighborhood from expressway • Additional lanes to relieve traffic bottlenecks noise • Higher profile of pavement, improved drainage, to • High-mast fixtures to improve lighting relieve flooding on the roadway NOTE: “After” photos are artist’s renderings based on project • Safer, easier access to Torrence exit from outbound designs. The final construction may look somewhat different in Bishop Ford Expressway and Ill. Rte. 394 some areas. New Southland Corridor Continued from p. 1 Construction Safety Tips Their diagnosis: An aged highway, showing Indiana’s Borman Expressway with the Tri- IDOT will have tow trucks patrolling the effects of heavy use by far more vehicles State Tollway in Illinois. Used daily by nearly the Kingery work zone 24 hours per than it was designed to serve for decades. 160,000 vehicles—up to 30 percent trucks— day/7 days per week, looking for The prescription: Construction of a safety and traffic concerns have increased disabled vehicles. You can increase your completely new transportation facility, based because of the expressway’s aging condition. safety factor in the work zone by on the latest technology in highway planning The average daily traffic count is projected to following these tips... and designed to last more than 40 years. By grow to 192,000 vehicles per day by 2020. Maintain Your Car: While there are project completion in late 2006, there will be: While the Kingery is undergoing reconstruc- six Accident Investigation Sites in the Completely new triple-level Southland tion, major work will be underway on the Tri- work zone, you may not breakdown in a Interchange including “fly-over” ramps that State Tollway (I-294), the Borman Expressway convenient location. Avoid vehicle link I-80/94 (Kingery), I-80/294 (Tri-State in Indiana and the Dan Ryan Expressway (I- emergencies and flat tires by keeping Tollway), I-94 (Bishop Ford Expressway) and 94) in Chicago. See p. 4 for project Web sites. your car and tires in excellent condition. Ill. Rte. 394; “Many road doctors—engineers and Wear Your Safety Belt: Strapping Redesigned and rebuilt interchange at construction workers—will be within inches of yourself in is the best defense against Torrence Ave. (U.S. Rte. 6/Ill. State Rte. 83), speeding traffic, risking their lives to build a bad drivers. featuring smoother, safer traffic flow; transportation facility to serve the public. We Pay Attention to Conditions: Stop- New bridge at Wentworth Ave.; and owe it to these workers to use caution through and-go traffic, bad weather conditions, More traffic lanes, soundwalls and better construction zones, pay attention to changing road rage and driver inattention— lighting. traffic patterns, and respect the posted 45 mile- they’re major causes of crashes. Pay IDOT’s healthcare plan for the Kingery per-hour speed limit,” Martin said. attention to what you’re doing and avoid will improve traffic flow, decrease congestion, "Keep Us Alive Drive 45" is IDOT's becoming a statistic. and eliminate unsafe reckless traffic merging campaign to keep workers and drivers safe in In Case of Emergency: Use your cell and weaving. work zones. Please see back cover of this phone to call *999 for help. Often called “80/94,” the Kingery connects newsletter for information about this program.

YES_KingeryNewsletter.pmd 2 3/7/05, 6:24 PM