Jane Addams Memorial Tollway

Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
Formerly the Northwest Tollway
Route information
Maintained by ISTHA
Length:	79 mi (127 km)
Existed:	1958 – present
Major junctions
West end:	IL 75 in South Beloit
East end:	I-90 / I-190 in Chicago
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Illinois state highway system Illinois Tollway system

The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Illinois is a 79-mile (127 km) segment of Interstate 90 from Interstate 190 in far northwest Chicago to Illinois Route 75, one mile (1.6 km) south of the Wisconsin state line. For 16 miles (26 km), Interstate 90 is concurrent with Interstate 39 and U.S. Route 51. The highway is named after Jane Addams, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Settlement House movement in the United States. The 3 miles on the north-west end of I-39/90 in Illinois are freeway.

The tollway was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s from the O'Hare area (at the Tri-State Tollway) to the WI line north of Rockford. The route is signed as I-90 on its entire length. From the Rockford Curve to the last exit in IL (IL-75), US-51 and I-39 also run with the Tollway.

East of Interstate 190, Interstate 90 merges into the Kennedy Expressway.

Prior to September 7, 2007, the tollway was known as the Northwest Tollway.

Route description

The Jane Addams Tollway contains 6 lanes (3 each direction) from its Northern terminus at Rockton Road, just south of the Wisconsin State Line, until its interchange with Interstate 39 at Cherry Valley. East of the Interstate 39 interchange, the tollway is 4 lanes (2 each direction) until its interchange with Randall Road at Elgin. From Elgin until its Eastern terminus, where it merges into the Kennedy Expressway, the tollway is 6 lanes (3 each direction).

Toll barriers

There are four mainline toll barriers in each direction with two split plazas and two full plazas. The barriers are located around the O'Hare International Airport area (River Road eastbound and Devon Avenue westbound), in Elgin, near Marengo (Eastbound), in Belvidere (Westbound), and in South Beloit. Interstate 39 travelers exiting/entering at Rockford paid at the Cherry Valley toll plaza, but that toll plaza has been decommissioned southbound in 2003 and northbound in 2004 in due to traffic congestion. In Feb. 2006, the Marengo Westbound and the Belvidere Eastbound tolls were removed. Two two toll plazas near O'Hare and the one in Elgin each charge cash tolls of 80 cents (as of January 1, 2005) and I-Pass tolls of 40 cents for a 2-axle passenger vehicle. The South Beloit toll plaza near the Illinois and Wisconsin state line is $1.00 (50 cents for I-Pass users). Eastbound traffic does not pay a toll at Belvidere because of the removal of the Eastbound Belvidere plaza, but pays $1.60 at Marengo (I-Pass users pay $0.80). On the other hand, Westbound traffic pays no toll at Marengo but pays $1.60 at Belvidere (I-PASS users pay $0.80). This change was done to accommodate open road tolling construction. Originally, a ticket system was used to compute tolls on the segment between Beloit and Elgin with each driver receiving a Hollerith card upon entering and paying upon exiting, but it was replaced with a cash barrier system in the late 1970s. It was the only portion of the Illinois Tollways to use a ticket system. Remnants of the old system can still be seen at several interchanges on the system including at the State St. US Bus. Hwy 20 exit near Rockford.

The Jane Addams Tollway is maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

The Jane Addams Tollway in Schaumburg.

Oases

There are two oases on the Jane Addams Tollway—one at Belvidere, and one in Des Plaines near O'Hare. Both are over-highway oases. A motorist was struck by flying debris and killed on 7 December 2009 at the Belvidere Oasis following an explosion at a nearby crystal factory. There is also a welcome center south of Beloit, WI that is located on the IDOT portion of the highway between the border with Wisconsin and Illinois Tollway control.

Golden Corridor

Main article: Golden Corridor

From O'Hare to Huntley, the region around the Jane Addams Tollway is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Corridor", due to the proximity of commercial and business activity located along the corridor in Northwest Suburban Chicago. Several Fortune 500 companies, large malls, hotels, entertainment and exhibition facilities, restaurants, and retailers are located along the corridor, providing a "gold" mine of profit to communities along the Golden Corridor.

History

The 76 mile portion of between O'Hare International airport and the Wisconsin state line opened on August 20, 1958. Prior to the opening, the first vehicle to officially travel the new roadway was a covered wagon navigated by local resident John Madsen who took 5 days to make the journey.

Exit list

County	Location	Plaza #	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Winnebago	South Beloit		0	US 51 north / IL 75 – South Beloit	West end of US 51 overlap; signed as exit 1. IL 75 now ends east of the interchange at the Wisconsin State Line and becomes Wisconsin Highway 67.
	Rockton		3	Northern end of Jane Adams Tollway - Rockton Road – Roscoe	Signed as exit 3, southbound traffic enters the Tollroad after this exit.
		1	3.5	South Beloit Toll Plaza
	Rockford	4	9.2	IL 173 – Machesney Park	Toll at southbound entrance and northbound exit
		2	13	East Riverside Boulevard – Loves Park	Toll at southbound entrance and northbound exit
			15.5	US 20 Bus. (State Street)
			17.5	I-39 south / US 51 south to US 20 – Rockford	East end of I-39/US 51 overlap
Boone	Belvidere		21	Irene Road	Westbound exit only
		5	23.5	Belvidere Toll Plaza (westbound)
			24.5	Belvidere Oasis
			25	Genoa Road – Belvidere
McHenry	Riley	7	38	Marengo-Hampshire Toll Plaza (eastbound)
Kane	Hampshire		43	US 20 – Marengo, Hampshire
	Huntley		46.5	IL 47 – Woodstock	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Elgin	8	52.5	Randall Road	Toll at eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		9	54	Elgin Toll Plaza
		11	55	IL 31
Cook		13	56	IL 25
	Hoffman Estates	14A	58	Beverly Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, toll at westbound exit
		14	60	IL 59	Toll at exits
		10	62.5	Barrington Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, toll at westbound exit
	Schaumburg	12	66	Roselle Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, toll at westbound exit
		15	68.5	I-290 east (Eisenhower Expressway) / IL 53 – Chicago, West Suburbs, Northwest Suburbs	Toll at eastbound exit
	Arlington Heights	18	71	Arlington Heights Road	Toll at eastbound exit
	Des Plaines		74	Elmhurst Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			74.5	Des Plaines Oasis
			76.5	IL 72 / Lee Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Rosemont	17	77	Devon Avenue Toll Plaza (westbound)
			77.5	IL 72 / Devon Avenue (6400 North)	Westbound entrance only
			77.5	I-294 south (Tri-State Tollway) / I-190 west (Kennedy Expressway) – Indiana, O'Hare Airport	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			78	I-294 north (Tri-State Tollway) – Milwaukee
		19	78.5	River Road Toll Plaza (eastbound)
	Chicago		79	I-90 east (Kennedy Expressway) – Chicago	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

External links

• Illinois Tollway official site
• Description and history from Richard Carlson's Illinois Highways
• Historic, Current & Average Travel Times For The Jane Addams Tollway