Interstate 294

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 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, 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.{{google maps |url = https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.5778514,-87.5626272/I-294,+Deerfield,+IL+60015/@41.858761,-87.9463333,69263m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x880fbf6b2f34c941:0xf2296d9383f3e9c2!2m2!1d-87.8739903!2d42.1618634!3e0 |title = Overview of Interstate 294 |access-date = October 22, 2020 }}

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 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, 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 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.

File:I-294 North Exit 30AB - IL38 (40888182472).jpg

I-294 then passes under Plainfield Road, crosses 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 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 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 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 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 a partial interchange with I-94 just south of Lake-Cook Road, the county line, to which I-294 has full access.

File:Southbound, Tri-State Tollway, Interstate 294, Chicago, Illinois (9181919778).jpg

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 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 the toll plazas. Long gaps between exit ramps are common, the {{convert|6.5|mi|km|adj=on}} 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, the central portion of I-294 between Balmoral Avenue and 95th Street was widened to eight lanes.{{cite news |first = P. Davis |last = Szymczak |title = Widening of Tri-State Could Begin in October |date = September 27, 1991 |access-date = April 18, 2010 |work = Chicago Tribune |url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24500899.html?dids=24500899:24500899&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+27%2C+1991&author=P.+Davis+Szymczak.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=Widening+of+Tri-State+could+begin+in+October&pqatl=google |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121026110705/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24500899.html?dids=24500899:24500899&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+27,+1991&author=P.+Davis+Szymczak.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Widening+of+Tri-State+could+begin+in+October&pqatl=google |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 26, 2012 }} As part of the project, the 79th Street exit was removed while the 75th Street/Willow Springs Road exit was constructed.{{Illinois road map|year=1993}}{{Illinois road map|year=1995}} It also caused southbound 83rd Street Toll Plaza to relocate north.{{Illinois road map|year=1997}} Several former partial interchanges have been converted to full interchanges, with automated toll collection facilities on 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).{{Illinois road map|year=1990}}{{Illinois road map|year=1991}} 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 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.{{cite news |last1=DoGood |first1=Silence |title=Full Opening of I-57/I-294 Interchange a Dream Come True for the Southland According to State Rep. Bob Rita |journal=The Southland Journal |date=September 12, 2022 |url=https://thesouthlandjournal.com/full-opening-of-i-57-i-294-interchange-a-dream-come-true-for-the-southland-according-to-state-rep-bob-rita/ |access-date=November 24, 2022}}{{cite web |title = I-294/I-57 Interchange Project: Phase 2 |url = https://www.illinoistollway.com/projects/tri-state/294-57-interchange |publisher = Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |access-date = August 12, 2020 }}

The central portion of I-294 between Balmoral Avenue and 95th Street 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.{{cite web |title = Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project |url = https://www.illinoistollway.com/projects/tri-state/central-tri-state-reconstruction |publisher =Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |access-date = August 12, 2020 }}{{Update after|2026}}

{{Clear}}

{{jcttop|exit|county=Cook|state=IL|exit_ref={{cite web |url = http://www.illinoistollway.com/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/TW_CONTENT_REPOSITORY/TW_CR_ROADS_TOLLS/TOLL%20RATES--12-31-2008.PDF |title = Toll Rates by Plaza (For Years 2009+) |access-date = January 23, 2009 |publisher = Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112073129/http://www.illinoistollway.com/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/TW_CONTENT_REPOSITORY/TW_CR_ROADS_TOLLS/TOLL%20RATES--12-31-2008.PDF |archive-date = January 12, 2009 }}

|length_ref={{cite map |url = http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1495438&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |title = System Map |access-date = January 23, 2009 |author = Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |date = n.d. |location = Downers Grove |publisher = Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090124063906/http://illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1495438&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |archive-date = January 24, 2009 }}}}

{{ILint|exit

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|road={{jct|state=IL|I|80|dir1=east|I|94|dir2=east|US|6|dir3=east|name3=Kingery Expressway|location1=Indiana}}

|notes=Southern terminus; southern end of I-80 concurrency; southern end of US 6 concurrency (northbound lanes only)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=none

|type=concur

|exit=161

|road={{jct|state=IL|US|6|dir1=west|IL|83|name2=Torrence Avenue}}

|notes=Northern end of US 6 concurrency (northbound lanes only); exit number follows I-80; no southbound entrance; only free exit northbound

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|ctdab2=Cook

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|road={{jct|state=IL|I|94|dir1=west|name1=Bishop Ford Freeway|city1=Chicago}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|394|dir1=south|name1=Calumet Expressway|city1=Danville}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus of Tri-State Tollway; I-94 exit 74B

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|mile=0.90

|place=Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|mile=2.83

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|notes=Toll on northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 2A (north) and 2B (south)

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|road=Dixie Highway

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|notes=Northern end of I-80 concurrency; I-80 exit 155

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=5.81

|type=etc

|place=163rd Street Toll Plaza}}

{{ILint|exit

|location1=Markham

|location2=Harvey

|exit=6

|mile=6.48

|type=etc

|road={{jct|state=IL|US|6|name1=159th Street}}

|notes=Toll on southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Midlothian

|lspan=2

|mile=7.75

|exit=7

|type=etc

|road={{jct|state=IL|I|57|to2=to|I|80|dir2=west|IL|83|name3=147th Street / Sibley Boulevard|city1=Chicago|location2=Memphis}}

|notes=Toll on southbound exit and northbound exit ramps; signed as exits 7A (north) and 7B (south) southbound; no northbound exit to I-57 south; no southbound entrance from I-57 north; I-57 exit 349

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=8.33

|exit=8

|type=etc

|road={{Jct|state=IL|IL|83|name1=147th Street / Sibley Boulevard}}

|notes=Toll on both sides; southbound exit and northbound entrance; former exit 9

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Alsip

|exit=12

|mile=12.13

|road={{jct|state=IL|IL|50|name1=Cicero Avenue|IL|83|name2=127th Street}}

|notes=Signed as exits 12A (south) and 12B (north)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Hickory Hills

|lspan=3

|exit=17

|mile=17.63

|type=etc

|road={{jct|state=IL|US|12|US|20|name2=95th Street|road|76th Avenue}}

|notes=Toll on northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 17A (east) and 17B (west) southbound; no northbound signage for 76th Avenue

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=19.37

|type=etc

|place=83rd Street Toll Plaza (northbound)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=19.78

|type=etc

|place=82nd Street Toll Plaza (southbound)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Justice

|lspan=2

|exit=20

|mile=

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|road={{jct|state=IL|IL|171|to1=to|name1=Archer Avenue|road|88th Avenue}}

|notes=Future interchange; will be a northbound exit and southbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=—

|mile=20.45

|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|US|12|US|20|US|45|name3=La Grange Road|IL|171|name4=Archer Avenue}}

|notes=Southbound entrance only as of 2022, northbound entrance being constructed

}}

{{jctbridge|exit

|location_special=Des Plaines River

|mile=21.20

|mile2=21.88

|bridge=Mile-Long Bridge

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Hodgkins

|exit=22

|mile=22.04

|mile2=22.28

|type=etc

|road=75th Street / Willow Springs Road

|notes=Toll on southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Indian Head Park

|lspan=2

|exit=23

|mile=23.20

|mile2=24.24

|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|I|55|name1=Stevenson Expressway|city1=Chicago|location2=St. Louis}}
{{jct|state=IL|US-Hist|66|name1=Joliet Road}}

|notes=Signed as exits 23A (north) and 23B (south) northbound; no southbound entrance from I-55 north; I-55 exit 277; exit southbound not numbered until 2025; southbound exit and northbound entrance provide access from and to Joliet Road; toll on southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=23B

|mile=23.42

|type=incomplete

|road=Wolf Road

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Hinsdale

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|place=Hinsdale Oasis (gas station only)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Western Springs

|exit=27

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|road={{jct|state=IL|US|34|name1=Ogden Avenue}}

|notes=Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Oak Brook

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|road={{jct|state=IL|I-Toll|88|dir1=west|CKC|dir2=west|name2=Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway|city1=Aurora}}

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-88 exit 138

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=29

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|type=incomplete

|road=Cermak Road (22nd Street)

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=30.00

|type=etc

|place=Cermak Road Toll Plaza

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Hillside

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|road={{jct|state=IL|IL|38|name1=Roosevelt Road}}

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 30A (east) and 30B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=—

|mile=31.00

|mspan=2

|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|I|290|dir1=east|CKC|dir2=east|name2=Eisenhower Expressway|city1=Chicago}}

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-290 exit 15A

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=none

|exit=31A

|type=incomplete

|road={{Jct|state=IL|I-Toll|88|dir1=west|CKC|dir2=west|name2=Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway|city1=Aurora}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-88 exit 139

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-290 exit 15A

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=none

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|road={{jct|state=IL|I|290|dir1=east|CKC|dir2=east|name2=Eisenhower Expressway|city1=Chicago}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-290 exit 15B

}}

{{ILint|exit

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|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-290 exit 13A

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Franklin Park

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|mile=

|type=unbuilt

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|notes=Future interchange; southbound exit only

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=35

|mile=

|type=unbuilt

|road={{jct|state=IL|I-Toll|490|dir1=north|name1=Western O'Hare Beltway|city1=Des Plaines|city2=Rockford}}

|notes=Future interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of Future I-490

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Schiller Park

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|place=O'Hare Oasis (gas station only)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=38

|mile=38.41

|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|IL|19|name1=Irving Park Road}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as exits 38A (east) and 38B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|mile=38.89

|type=etc

|place=Irving Park Toll Plaza (southbound)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Rosemont

|lspan=3

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|type=etc

|road=Balmoral Avenue

|notes=Toll on northbound exit ramp; northbound exit and southbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=40A

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|road={{jct|state=IL|I|190|dir1=west|name1=Kennedy Expressway|road|River Road|city1=O'Hare|extra=airport}}

|notes=Toll on exit ramps; signed as exit 40 northbound; I-190 exits 1C-D; northbound exit to River Road only

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=40B

|mile=40.88

|road={{jct|state=IL|I-Toll|90|name1=Kennedy Expressway / Jane Addams Memorial Tollway|city1=Chicago|city2=Rockford}}

|notes=Signed as exit 40 northbound; I-90 exits 77 and 79C

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Park Ridge

|lspan=2

|mile=41.64

|type=etc

|place=Touhy Avenue Toll Plaza (northbound)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=42

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|type=incomplete

|road=Touhy Avenue / Des Plaines River Road

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 42A (east) and 42B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Des Plaines

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|exit=44

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|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|US|14|name1=Dempster Street}}

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 44A (east) and 44B (west)

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=45

|mile=45.34

|type=etc

|road={{jct|state=IL|IL|58|name1=Golf Road}}

|notes=Toll on southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Glenview

|exit=48

|mile=49.02

|type=etc

|road=Willow Road

|notes=Toll on southbound exit and northbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|location=Northbrook

|lspan=2

|exit=52

|mile=52.75

|mspan=2

|road=Lake Cook Road

|notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance

}}

{{ILint|exit

|exit=—

|mile=none

|type=incomplete

|road={{jct|state=IL|I-Toll|94|dir1=west|name1=Tri-State Tollway north|location1=Wisconsin}}

|notes=Northern terminus; northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-94 exit 25B

}}

{{jctbtm|exit|keys=concur,incomplete,etc,unbuilt}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Interstate 294}}

{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

• [http://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/i294.html Kurumi's 3di page: Interstate 294]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110906203518/http://www.highwayexplorer.com/il_EndsPage.php?id=3294§ion=1 Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 294]

{{3di|94}}

Interstate 294

94-2

94-2 Illinois

2

Category:Toll roads in Illinois

Category:Transportation in Cook County, Illinois