Interstate 80 in Illinois
Interstate 80 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. I-80 enters Illinois from Iowa in the west, southwest of Rapids City and runs generally eastward through East Moline, LaSalle and Joliet, before entering Indiana in Lansing. The interstate runs for approximately through the state.
In the 1920s, two state highways followed the general alignment that I-80 takes. In 1932 US 6 was extended through Illinois, paralleling the alignment that I-80 in Illinois. Construction started in 1957 and I-80 was completed in 1968. In the early 1990s Illinois wanted to reroute I-80 in the Quad Cities area. At the same time the section of I-80 that is concurrent with I-294 was reconstructed. The portion of I-80 that is concurrent with the Kingery Expressway was rebuilt in the mid-2000s.
Route description
Interstate 80 extends from west to east across the northern portion of the state through the population centers of Quad Cities and the south Chicago suburbs. The freeway is mostly maintained by Illinois Department of Transportation, with Illinois State Toll Highway Authority maintaining the section of I-80 that is concurrent with the Tri-State Tollway. The busiest section of the freeway is between the I-94 and IL 83 interchanges in Lansing. Approximately 181,200 vehicles used the freeway on average each day in 2011; in contrast the lowest traffic level was 16,400 vehicles between the IL 78 and IL 40 interchanges in Henry and Bureau Counties. I-80 contains between a minimum of four lanes and a maximum of ten lanes total. The majority of the highway runs through farmland and urban areas.Iowa to Interstate 39
I-80 enters Illinois on the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River, southwest of Rapids City. After leaving the bridge the interstate has a folded diamond interchange with IL 84. The highway heads south, as a four-lane interstate, passing along the east side of the Quad Cities. Eastbound I-80 traffic has access to an Illinois Welcome Center. The road has a cloverleaf interchange with the western terminus of I-88. After the interchange with I-88, the highway crosses over Rock River. The interstate has a diamond interchange with U.S. Route 6, before having an interchange with I-74 in East Moline. At this interchange, I-80 turns easterly paralleling US 6 and leaving the Quad Cities area. East of Quad Cities the interstate passes through rural farmland as a four-lane interstate. The road passes south of Geneseo, with the city having one interchange at IL 82. The road passes south of Atkinson, before passing over US 6 and a railroad track.After crossing over the railroad tracks the interstate has an interchange with IL 78, north of Annawan. The interstate continues towards the east having a folded diamond interchange with IL 40, before having rest areas on both sides of the roadway. The highway passes on the north side of Princeton, having an interchange with IL 26, near a commercial part of the city. I-80 passes over US 34, before leaving Princeton and having an interchange with the northern terminus of I-180. The interstate has a rural interchange with IL 89, before entering LaSalle. In LaSalle the highway, has a diamond interchange with 103 Road, just north of the Illinois Valley Regional Airport. The highway has an interchange with IL 251, with commercial properties around the interchange. I-80 has an interchange with IL 351, just south of the Mitchells Grove Nature Preserve, before having an interchange with I-39/US 51.
Interstate 39 to Indiana
After the interchange with I-39, I-80 leaves LaSalle, heading towards the east passing through rural farmland. Between 12th road and 14th Road the interstate passes the AASHO Road Test site, one of old test loops used for testing different types of road surfaces in the 1950s. The interstate enters Ottawa and has an interchange with IL 23, near many commercial businesses. After IL 23 the freeway leaves Ottawa and crosses over the Fox River, before having an interchange with IL 71. The road passes through rural farmland, having a few rural interchanges before entering Morris. In Morris the roadway curves toward the northeast, having an interchange with IL 47, near many commercial properties. The highway leaves Morris, passing through farmland, having a rural interchange with a county road. Both directions of I-80 have a rest area before entering Minooka. In Minooka the interstate curves the east, before turning back towards the northeast and leaving the village. The road enters Will County by curving towards the northeast. The interstate curves towards the east, before having an interchange with I-55.After I-55, I-80 enters Joliet, passing near many warehouses. The road has an interchange with IL 7, before passing near residential. The road crosses over the Des Plaines River on the Des Plaines River Bridge. After the river the freeway has an interchange with US 52/IL 53. The interstate has an interchange with a city street, before crossing over a railroad tracks. After the railroad tracks the freeway has a diamond interchange with another city street. The road has a folded diamond interchange with US 30, before passing southeast of Potawatomi Woods County Forest Preserve. While passing through the preserve the roadway becomes a six-lane interstate. The interstate has an interchange with the southern terminus of the Veterans Memorial Tollway. The residential properties end and the highway passes through a more industrial area, before passing through the Yankee Woods.
After the preserve the interstate has an interchange with I-57. I-80 joins the Tri-State Tollway heading towards the east as a ten-lane tollway. The tollway passes over a rail yard, before having an interchange with IL 1. After IL 1 the roadway narrows to eight-lanes and passes through the Thornton Quarry. The interstate passes under the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis, before passing north of Wampum Lake. After passing the lake the tollway has an interchange with I-94. At this interchange with I-94 the Tri-State Tollway and I-294 both end, with I-94 running concurrent with I-80 towards the east. The concurrency between I-80 and I-94 travels on a freeway locally known as the Kingery Expressway. The interstate has a single-point urban interchange with IL 83 and the western end of US 6 concurrency. East of US 6 exit the freeway become a ten-lane interstate, passing near residential properties. The road enters Indiana and the freeway name becomes Borman Expressway.
Services
The IDOT operates 5 rest areas and ISHTA operates one Oasis in 163 miles of interstate highway. Along I-80, there are three locations that have facilities for each direction of traffic. Parking areas are divided so passenger automobiles are separated from semi trucks. Common among most of the rest stops are restrooms, payphones with TTY capabilities, weather information, picnic areas and vending machines. The eastbound rest area near Rapid City does not allow large trucks and doesn't have vending machines or TTY capabilities.The Oasis is the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis, located in South Holland. Like most of the other Oasis this location has several fast food restaurants, gas stations, convenience store, visitors center and free wireless internet. This Oasis is one of the few with an electric vehicle charging station. The Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis was originally named Lincoln Oasis, the ISHTA added Chicago Southland to the name. The change was made to better represent the area around the Oasis. The Oasis' name was changed in February 2006 changing the name officially to the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis.
History
In 1917, there were many sections of named highways which made up the route that current I-80 takes through Illinois. The first was the Blue Line. It was routed between Rock Island and Princeton. The second section was named Sunset Trail and it traveled between Princeton and Ottawa, passing through LaSalle. Illinois Valley Trail went from Ottawa to Orland Park. From Orland Park to the Indiana state line no named highway was available. The first state highways along the I-80 corridor were numbered IL 7 from the Rock Island east to the Orland Park area and IL 53 from Orland Park east to Indiana state line in 1923. The United States Numbered Highway System was approved on November 11, 1926, and US 32 was routed between Rock Island and Princeton. East of Princeton US 32 followed a route closer to current US 34. US 6 was commissioned in Illinois in 1932 replacing US 32 west of Princeton, IL 7 between Princeton and Joliet, and IL 53 from Joliet to the Indiana state line.Construction of a test track for the Interstate Highway System between Utica and Ottawa began in 1952. The test track had six different segments of roadway, with different types of surfaces. One of the old test tracks can still be seen from I-80. The first section of I-80 to open was the section that is known as the Kingery Expressway, this section open in 1957, as US 6. In October 1958 the test track west of Ottawa opens to testing. The section of I-80 that is concurrent with the Tri-State Tollway was opened in 1958. November 1960 the testing at the test track is complete. The interstate opened between IL 71, near Ottawa, and I-55, near Joliet, in 1960. The segment of roadway between IL 23 and IL 71, near Ottawa, open in 1961. In 1962 the highway was extended west to IL 89, near LaSalle, replacing and paralleling the test track most of the way to Utica. Also in 1962, another section of road open between US 67 and IL 78. During 1964 and 1965 the gap between IL 78 and IL 89 was completed and opened to traffic. The north-south section of I-80 in Illinois was open in 1967. The last section of I-80 to open was the section between I-55 and the Tri-State Tollway, with it opening 1968.
In 1990 and 1991, IDOT proposed rerouting I-80 onto present day I-280, with current I-80 becoming I-74. IDOT listed safety concerns and cost savings as reasons to reroute I-80. Iowa officials challenged the reroute of I-80 and the routes of I-74 and I-80 never changed. Between 1991 and 1992 the section of I-80 that is concurrent with the Tri-State Tollway was reconstructed and widened to eight-lanes. Between 2003 and 2007 construction to widen the Kingery Expressway, the project costed $460 Million. This was the first major project on the Kingey Expressway since it was opened in the 1950s. In early 2011, IDOT began construction to widen a section of freeway to six-lanes between US 30 and US 45. This project had an opening ceremony on October 24, 2012, with the project costing $26 million.