29-534: Interstate 294 ( I-294 ) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois . Forming the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois, I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80 / I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to Northbrook at I-94. I-294 is 53.42 miles (85.97 km) long; 5.32 miles (8.56 km) are shared with I-80. It serves as
58-474: A loop route ) completely surrounds a metropolitan city, and it is often connected with multiple junctions to other routes. Unlike other auxiliary Interstate Highways (and by extension, all primary Interstate Highways ), beltways do not have termini; however, they have a place where the highway mileage resets to zero. Beltways are also preceded by an even number in the first digit. Some examples of beltways include: Mile-Long Bridge The Mile-Long Bridge
87-634: A bypass around the city of Chicago . I-294 begins at the interchange between I-94 , I-80 , and IL 394 in Lansing . I-94 splits off toward Chicago while I-80/I-294 heads west as an eight-lane tollway and crosses above a railroad track and Thorn Creek in Thornton . The highway crosses under the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis, Chicago Road, another railroad track, and State Street through residential areas. I-80/I-294
116-806: A partial interchange with IL 83 (147th Street). I-294 turns west to cross the Rock Island District and Kedzie Avenue. I-294 turns northwest, and enters Midlothian . It crosses over South Claire Boulevard, Pulaski Road, the Midlothian Turnpike, 135th Street, and the Calumet River . I-294 has an interchange with IL 50 and IL 83 (Cicero Avenue) with a northbound exit and southbound entrance via 127th Street in Alsip . It then passes by warehouses and crosses over Ridgeland Avenue, 115th Street, 111th Street, 107th Street,
145-739: A partial interchange with I-94 just south of Lake-Cook Road, the county line, to which I-294 has full access. The portion of the Borman Expressway that was completed from Gary westward and the Kingery Expressway were originally designated as I-80, I-90, and I-294 from shortly after the Interstate Highway program was enacted until about 1965 when the connection between the Borman and the Indiana Toll Road
174-671: A small creek, crosses under the Hinsdale Oasis, and enters Hinsdale . I-294 passes under 55th Street, 47th Street, the BNSF Railway Line , and a trail. I-294 then has a cloverleaf interchange with US 34 and enters Oak Brook . I-294 crosses under 31st Street and Cermak Road. I-294 goes through the Cermak Road toll plaza and the Hillside Strangler. It crosses over IL 38 (Roosevelt Road) after
203-492: 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 intersect the parent route at one end; bypasses , which connect to the parent route at both ends; and beltways , which form a circle that intersects the parent route at two locations. Some routes connect to the parent route at one end but to another route at
232-446: A typical 3-digit Interstate Highway, bypasses usually have both its two termini junctioned with another Interstate highway. Bypass routes are preceded by an even number in the first digit. Examples include: In the case of an auxiliary Interstate highway which has both ends at Interstates but not the same Interstate, some states treat these as bypasses while others treat these as spurs—see Spur route above. A beltway (also known as
261-577: Is between the Thornton Quarry on an elevated area before crossing the quarry on a bridge and passing under another railroad track. The highway then enters East Hazel Crest and has a cloverleaf interchange with IL 1 (Halsted Street) and widens to 10 lanes. Then, I-80/I-294 reenters the residential areas and center cross over Center Avenue, the Canadian National Railway Chicago Subdivision,
290-579: Is currently being reconstructed and widened to a five/six-lane cross-section, with the inside shoulder being a flex lane that can be used during emergencies or heavy congestion. The work also includes reconfiguring the interchange with I-88/I-290. It required the demolition of the Hinsdale Oasis. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. The entire route is in Cook County . Auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways ) are
319-609: Is the colloquial name for a 4,608-foot-long (1,404.5 m) bridge in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois . The bridge carries Interstate 294 (I-294) over the Des Plaines River , the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal , two major railroad lines, and an intermodal facility. A series of 51 piers carries I-294 over the broad Des Plaines River valley. In spite of its name, the bridge falls 672 feet (205 m) short of one full mile in length. As part of
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#1732780505980348-423: Is usually one of the following: Examples include: Sometimes, a three-digit Interstate Highway branches off from another three-digit Interstate Highway. These spurs do not connect directly with their parent highways, but are associated with them via the three-digit highways they do intersect with. Examples include: A bypass route may traverse around a city, or may run through it with the mainline bypassing. In
377-497: The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are partnering to construct a new interchange to connect I-294 to I-57. The primary interchange connections between I-294 and I-57 were completed in 2014, while the remaining ramps except for northbound I-57 to southbound I-294 and northbound I-294 to southbound I-57 were completed on September 11, 2022. The central portion of I-294 between Balmoral Avenue and 95th Street
406-743: The Metra Electric , and the Dixie Highway. After crossing under 171st Street, I-80 splits off and heads toward Des Moines, Iowa , and I-294 narrows to eight lanes in Hazel Crest . After the I-80 split, I-294 heads north and enters Markham . It crosses under 167th Street and goes through the 163rd Street toll plaza. I-294 has a cloverleaf interchange with US Route 6 (US 6; 159th Street) and turns northwest toward an incomplete interchange with I-57 . I-294 then enters Posen and has
435-795: The Canadian National Railway Joliet Subdivision , the Illinois and Michigan Canal , the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal , the Des Plaines River , the BNSF Railway Chillicothe Subdivision , Santa Fe Drive, and an access road on the Mile-Long Bridge . I-294 then enters Indian Head Park and has an interchange with I-55 and Joliet Road and turns north. I-294 then passes under Plainfield Road, crosses
464-706: The Central Tri-State Tollway Project, construction of a new Mile-Long Bridge structure, together with demolition of the original 1958 structure, proceeded in phases commencing in 2019. In the first completed phase of the project, a new northbound bridge structure opened to traffic in November 2020. Demolition of the old northbound structure commenced in 2021, followed by the construction of a new southbound structure. The completed southbound structure opened to traffic in October 2022. Removal of
493-819: The Des Plaines River and the Union Pacific Northwest Line , and enters Park Ridge . I-294 has a partial interchange with US 14 (Dempster Street), enters Glenview , and crosses over Northwest Highway and Ballard Road. It has another partial interchange with IL 58 and crosses over the Union Pacific New Line, Central Avenue, IL 21 (Milwaukee Avenue), and Lake Avenue. It has a diamond interchange with Willow Road and enters Northbrook . It crosses under Sanders Road and IL 68 (Dundee Road) and crosses over Sanders Road. It enters Deerfield and terminates at
522-692: The Union Pacific New Line and Wolf Road, briefly enters Bensenville , crosses over the Bensenville Railyard of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Milwaukee District West Line , and US 12/US 45 (Mannheim Road), enters Schiller Park , crosses under the former O'Hare Oasis, and passes by the Irving Park toll plaza (for southbound lanes). It passes through the Chicago Panhandle, which connects O'Hare to
551-410: The central portion of I-294 between Balmoral Avenue and 95th Street was widened to eight lanes. As part of the project, the 79th Street exit was removed while the 75th Street/Willow Springs Road exit was constructed. It also caused southbound 83rd Street Toll Plaza to relocate north. Several former partial interchanges have been converted to full interchanges, with automated toll collection facilities on
580-450: The new ramps, such as at 159th Street (US 6; northbound on and southbound off added) and 95th Street (US 12/US 20; southbound on and northbound off added). Between 2006 and 2009, the southern and northern portions of I-294 (IL-394 to 95th Street and I-90 to Lake Cook Road respectively) were fully reconstructed and expanded, bringing the entire highway up to eight lanes. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) and
609-433: The numbers can repeat from state to state along their route, but they will not repeat within a state. There are three states that have no auxiliary Interstate Highways: Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico. North Dakota has an auxiliary route, but it is unsigned , and Wyoming's does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Auxiliary Interstates are divided into three types: spur , loop , and bypass routes. The first digit of
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#1732780505980638-687: The other end; some states treat these as spurs while others treat them as bypasses. Like the primary Interstate Highways , auxiliary highways meet Interstate Highway standards (with rare exceptions ). The shorter auxiliary routes branch from primary routes; their numbers are based on the parent route's number. All of the supplement routes for Interstate 95 (I-95) are designated with a three-digit number ending in "95": I-x95. With some exceptions, spur routes are numbered with an odd hundreds digit (such as I-395 ), while bypasses and beltways are numbered with an even hundreds digit (such as I-695 ). Because longer Interstates may have many such supplemental routes,
667-555: The plaza. It enters Hillside and crosses over I-88 and I-290 . It then crosses under Saint Charles Road, enters Berkeley , and crosses the Union Pacific West Line . I-294 enters Northlake and crosses over US 20 (Lake Street), IL 64 (North Avenue), and Grand Avenue. It then takes the Grand Avenue Curve, turning northeast as it approaches O'Hare International Airport . I-294 crosses over
696-517: The rest of the city. It then enters Rosemont , crossing under Balmoral Avenue, I-190 and the Blue Line , and crossing over I-90 , having an interchange with each of the three previously mentioned roadways. I-294 enters Des Plaines , passing by the Touhy Avenue toll plaza (for northbound lanes), and crosses over River Road. It then has a partial interchange with Touhy Avenue. I-294 crosses
725-422: The standard numbering guidelines exist for a number of reasons. In some cases, original routes were changed, extended, or abandoned, leaving discrepancies in the system. In other cases, it may not be possible to use the proper number because the limited set of available numbers has been exhausted, causing a "non-standard" number to be used. A spur route 's number usually has an odd number for its first digit. It
754-452: The three digits usually signifies whether a route is a bypass, spur, or beltway. The last two digits are derived from the main Interstate Highway. For instance, I-115 contains an odd number in the first digit (1), which indicates that this freeway is a spur. The last two digits signify the highway's origin. In this case, the "15" in I-115 shows that it is a supplement to I-15 . Exceptions to
783-600: The toll plazas. Long gaps between exit ramps are common, the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) gap between Cicero Avenue (IL 50/IL 83) and 95th Street (US 12/US 20) being one of the more notable ones. Partial interchanges are located at Roosevelt Road ( IL 38 ; northbound exit, southbound entrance), Irving Park Road (IL 19) (southbound exit, northbound entrance), Touhy Avenue (northbound exit, southbound entrance), Dempster Street (US 14; northbound exit, southbound entrance), and Golf Road (IL 58; southbound exit, northbound entrance). From 1992 to 1993,
812-609: The tracks of the SouthWest Service , Southwest Highway, Stony Creek, all while entering Worth , Chicago Ridge , and Bridgeview . The tollway enters Justice and has another interchange with US 12 / US 20 (95th Street) and IL 43 (Harlem Avenue). I-294 then crosses over 87th Street and Roberts Road. It then goes through the 82nd/83rd street toll plaza. It crosses over 88th Avenue and has an interchange with IL 171 (Archer Avenue), US 45 , US 12, and US 20 (La Grange Road). I-294 then crosses
841-554: Was completed, and I-90 was swapped with I-94 west of that junction (and east of where those routes share the same road in Chicago), cutting back I-294 to its current south terminus (eliminating the Indiana part of I-294). I-294 was constructed largely before the growth and maturation of the suburbs that run along the corridor. As a result, the vast majority of the interchanges are partial or were configured to have entrance ramps feeding
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