Illinois Tollway hosting open house for IL 47 interchange project

The Illinois Tollway and Del Webb’s Sun City will host a presentation and public open house for the Illinois Route 47 Interchange Project on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) on September 24 to provide business and community members with a construction update.

The open house will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sun City Prairie Lodge, 12880 Del Webb Boulevard in Huntley, Ill. The public is invited to view informational displays, learn about ongoing construction and ask Tollway staff questions about the project that will support economic growth, create jobs and improve access for Tollway customers traveling to and from communities along Illinois Route 47.

In addition, a presentation by Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur will highlight the new interchange project, as well as construction activities planned throughout the I-90 corridor. The presentation, hosted by Sun City, will take place at 1 p.m. at Prairie Lodge in the Drendel Ballroom.

“We are excited to talk about this interchange project that will improve the quality of life for residents in Kane and McHenry counties,” said Lafleur in a press release. “Our model for success has been to work in collaboration with local governments and communities, so we appreciate hearing what our customers, residents and businesses have to say about our ongoing work on the this project.”

The estimated $69 million Illinois Route 47 Interchange Project is being built in partnership with the Village of Huntley, Kane County, McHenry County and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as part of the Tollway’s $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. Construction began in June and the interchange is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

The Illinois Route 47 Interchange Project will complete the existing partial interchange and includes construction of six new ramps with all-electronic toll plazas and reconstruction of Illinois Route 47 over I-90 to provide a full-access interchange.

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The project also includes the reconstruction and widening of 1.5 miles of Illinois Route 47 from south of Manning Road to north of Jim Dhamer Drive and Freeman Road. In addition, new traffic signals will be installed at the intersection of Illinois Route 47 with Jim Dhamer Drive and Freeman Road and at two new signalized intersections at the westbound exit ramp to northbound Illinois Route 47 and eastbound exit ramp to northbound and southbound Illinois Route 47.

A public hearing will be held later this year to set the rates and all public comments will be presented to the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors. Proposed I-PASS toll rates are 30 cents to and from the east and 45 cents to and from the west for passenger vehicles. Proposed rates for trucks range from 60 cents to $1.50 to and from the east and 95 cents to $2.50 to and from the west during daytime hours, with overnight discounts offered.

With about 84 percent of drivers using I-PASS on the Illinois Tollway, the new Illinois Route 47 Interchange an ideal location for an all-electronic interchange. Customers who wish to pay cash have the option of entering or exiting at the U.S. 20 Interchange four miles to the west or at the Randall Road Interchange five miles to the east.

Project Benefits

The Illinois Route 47 Interchange Project is the first project to get underway as part of the Move Illinois Program and is expected to create as many as 390 direct and indirect construction-related jobs. The new interchange will create more opportunity for continued economic development along Illinois Route 47 and will open up access between the Tollway and a regional north-south transportation route. According to a study commissioned by the Village of Huntley, the new interchange is estimated to bring nearly 12,000 retail, office and light industrial jobs to the region by 2030.

As the Illinois Tollway’s first “green” interchange, the project features several new green construction initiatives, including a geothermal water piping system that makes use of the earth’s natural heating and cooling abilities to help heat and cool nearby plaza buildings in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner, reflective roofs and trellised vegetation for plaza buildings to further reduce heating and cooling costs. Roadway construction for the new interchange also includes the use of recycled materials and warm-mix asphalt, which reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during production.

In addition, ramp shoulder pavement designed to allow water to seep through and detention basins with filtration systems featured at the new interchange will not only reduce the amount of storm water runoff and lessen the chance of downstream flooding, but also filter out the sediments and pollutants typically discharged from roadway surface water runoff. The Tollway is going to continue to explore these and other green construction technologies in the construction of all future interchanges.