AASHTO Journal, 19 July 2013
The Illinois Department of Transportation this week began work on a $475 million interchange project in Chicago to reduce delays, improve traffic flow, save drivers money, and create jobs at the most congested interchange in the country.
IDOT’s Circle Interchange Project will reconstruct the interchange in the center of Chicago that links several vital routes, including I-90/I-94, I-290, and Congress Parkway. IDOT estimates that the improvements, which will be made over four years, will cut traffic delays “at least 50 percent,” saving drivers five million hours each year. IDOT also said the better traffic flow allowed by the project’s completion will save roughly 1.6 million gallons of fuel each year.
The interchange project will focus on correcting lane balance issues, local access lanes, and reconfiguring ramps for safer and more efficient traffic flow. The project also improves the multimodal transportation system of the surrounding streets with the inclusion of bike lanes, better access to transit, and wider sidewalks.
“We are excited to begin work on this very important project, one that will keep our region and our economy moving,” said Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider in a statement. “More than 400,000 vehicles pass through the Circle Interchange each day, making it a vital regional and local hub for commuters, businesses and freight movement.”
Gov. Pat Quinn agreed with Schneider on the importance of the project.
“The Circle Interchange reconstruction is the state’s biggest and one of our most important construction projects,” he said. “Not only will this endeavor create thousands of jobs for Illinois workers, the new Circle Interchange will help local businesses and industry move products, and drivers will reduce the time they spend in their cars each day. By making these critical improvements today, we will guarantee the interchange is a safe, efficient and modern transportation hub for generations to come.”
The Circle Interchange was constructed more than 50 years ago and has since outgrown its design capacity. The interchange is traveled by more than 400,000 vehicles per day, 33,000 of which are trucks. IDOT reports an average of 940 crashes on the interchange each year, and the Federal Highway Administration has identified the interchange as the number one bottleneck on highways “crucial to the nation’s freight transportation system.”
Additional information on the Circle Interchange Project is available at CircleInterchange.org.