Interstate 355
Encyclopedia
Interstate 355 also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

 in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of the state, I-355 is maintained by a State Highway Authority
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is an instrumentality and administrative agency of the State of Illinois, United States. The roads, as well as the Authority itself, are sometimes referred to as the Illinois Tollway...

. I-355 runs from Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in Illinois
In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 80 is an Interstate Highway that runs from the Quad Cities east to south of Chicago. It is a main east–west route for trafficcoming and going through Illinois, especially for cross-country truckers....

 in New Lenox
New Lenox, Illinois
New Lenox is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village population is estimated to be 24,938 as of 2006. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning forecasts New Lenox will have a population of 90,652 in 2030.-Geography:...

 north to Interstate 290
Interstate 290 (Illinois)
Interstate 290 is a main Interstate freeway that runs westwards from the Chicago Loop. A portion of I-290 is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway. In short form, it is known as "the Ike" or the Eisenhower...

 in Itasca
Itasca, Illinois
Itasca is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,302 at the 2000 census.In 2009, BusinessWeek rated Itasca as the 'Best Affordable Suburb' in the state of Illinois...

, a distance of 32.5 miles (52.3 km). With the exception of a four-mile (6 km) expansion in 2009, the highway is six lanes wide for its entire length.

The tollway authority opened I-355 as the North–South Tollway in 1989 to ease congestion on Illinois Route 53
Illinois Route 53
Illinois Route 53 is an arterial north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. Route 53 runs south from Long Grove at Illinois Route 83 to Gardner at Interstate 55 west of old U.S. Highway 66, a distance of...

 (IL 53), a parallel two-lane state highway in central DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...

. Initially, I-355 ran from Interstate 55
Interstate 55 in Illinois
In the U.S. state of Illinois, Interstate 55 is a major north–south Interstate Highway that connects the St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago metropolitan areas. It runs from the Poplar Street Bridge in East St. Louis to U.S. Route 41 near downtown Chicago...

 north to I-290. The new highway helped cut travel times for commuters traveling north and south in the county. According to commercial real estate developers at the time, the new tollway also opened the western suburbs of Chicago to commercial and industrial development.

On November 11, 2007, the tollway authority opened a southern extension of I-355 from I-55 to I-80, a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km); on its opening, the tollway authority changed the name of the tollway to "Veterans Memorial Tollway". The tollway authority laid the route of the new extension through Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...

 and a small portion of Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

, one of the fastest-growing regions in Illinois. The tollway authority expects the extension to cut travel times in the region by 20 percent.

Early history

From the late 1920s through 1963, the two-lane-wide Rohlwing Road (also known as SBI Route 53, and later Illinois 53) serviced the north–south transportation corridor that includes eastern portions of DuPage County. From 1963 to 1970, the Illinois Department of Transportation
Illinois Department of Transportation
The Illinois Department of Transportation is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel tax and federal funding to local juridictions in the...

 (IDOT) planned and built a new expressway north from Army Trail Road
Army Trail Road
Army Trail Road is a county road in parts of DuPage and Kane Counties, Illinois. Army Trail Road begins at the Addison Village Hall east of John F. Kennedy Drive in a cul de sac in Addison, Illinois. It ends at Illinois Route 25 in Wayne, Illinois. The portion of Army Trail Road from Illinois 53 to...

 through Schaumburg to the Northwest Tollway (now the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway). After its completion, IDOT rerouted Illinois 53 onto this new expressway from Rohlwing Road.

The original alignment of I-355 was defined in the Chicago Area Transportation Study (abbreviated CATS) Transportation Plan of April 1962. The plan called for a supplemental system of limited-access expressways to be built in the Chicago metropolitan area by 1980, and defined corridors where the expressways were to be located. Most of these corridors, including the Des Plaines River
Des Plaines River
The Des Plaines River is a river that flows southward for through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the U.S. Midwest, eventually meeting the Kankakee River west of Channahon to form the Illinois River, a tributary of the Mississippi River....

 expressway, the Crosstown Expressway running north–south along the west side of Chicago, and most of a proposed northern extension of Illinois 53 were scrapped because of intense local opposition.

Initially, state and county officials anticipated building a freeway for the expressway south of Army Trail Road, similar to the existing freeway north of Army Trail Road. In 1979, Chicago mayor Jane Byrne
Jane Byrne
Jane Margaret Byrne was the first and to date only female Mayor of Chicago. She served from April 16, 1979 to April 29, 1983. Chicago is the largest city in the United States to have had a female mayor as of 2011.-Early political career:...

 canceled plans for the proposed Crosstown Expressway. Following the move, Congress gave the rights to half of the $200 million (1979, $568 million in 2007) that had been earmarked
Earmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...

 for the Crosstown Expressway to DuPage County. However, county officials found this amount insufficient for construction of the new freeway. The officials then handed authority for the project over to the tollway authority, and spent the money on other projects in the county.

In June 1984, Republican minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...

 James "Pate" Philip
James Philip
James "Pate" Philip , is a Republican from Wood Dale, Illinois. Philip was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1966 to 1975, and the Illinois Senate from 1975 until his retirement in 2003...

 helped push through legislation authorizing the construction of the tollway, then referred to as simply the DuPage Tollway. Officials at the Morton Arboretum
Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...

, one of the nation's premier woodland research centers, promptly filed a federal lawsuit to block construction of the tollway. They also promised to prevent the tollway authority from obtaining environmental approval from federal officials.

In April 1985, the two agencies came to an agreement regarding construction of the new tollway. To protect the arboretum from salt spray and other pollutants caused by cars on the tollway, the tollway authority agreed to build I-355 below grade around the perimeter of the arboretum. The tollway authority would build a water collection system to divert runoff from the arboretum. In addition, they would build earthen berms along the new road, preventing salt spray from damaging arboretum plants. In exchange, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District agreed to a 99-year lease providing 189 acre (0.76485654 km²) of its land to the arboretum for the development of an "urban vegetation laboratory". Under the agreement, Morton Arboretum agreed to charge DuPage County residents lower admissions one day of the week, build a bicycle path connecting the arboretum to nearby forest preserves, and begin a joint clean-streams program to improve the water quality of DuPage County's lakes and streams. In January 1986, the tollway paid out $2.5 million (1986, $4.7 million in 2007) to a trust fund as a part of the settlement to help finance the arboretum's new programs.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a preliminary environmental impact statement
Environmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...

 on March 13, 1986. At a public hearing a month later, arboretum executives and Woodridge
Woodridge, Illinois
Woodridge is a suburb of Chicago, located primarily in DuPage County, Illinois with portions in Will County and Cook County. It uses the 630 and 331 area codes. The population was 30,934 at the 2000 census. A special census commissioned in 2003 put the population at 33,253...

 officials strongly criticized the report as "fatally flawed" and a repeat of tollway-provided research, including typographical errors. The opposition also cited outdated and inaccurate data regarding wetlands replacement, salt dispersion, and the lack of compensation to residents for lowered property values. The tollway authority agreed to run the road below-grade at 75th Street instead of as a 28 feet (8.5 m) high elevated highway. In addition, they agreed to spend an extra $1 million (1986, $2 million in 2007) on the redesigned elevation and interchange.

The Corps of Engineers issued a permit for the tollway on October 8, 1986, rejecting last-minute concerns from the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...

 to reroute the toll road around sections of Churchill Woods Prairie, between Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Glen Ellyn is an affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the village population was 26,999.-Geography:...

 and Lombard
Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, "The Lilac Village", is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 42,322 at the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 to be 42,975.-History:...

. The permit allowed the first two earth moving contracts issued by the tollway authority to move forward. The tollway authority put the total cost of 17.7 miles (28.5 km) of new pavement at $450 million (1987, $817 million in 2007). Of the total cost, $325 million (1987, $590 million in 2007) was allocated for construction, $30 million (1987, $54 million in 2007) to alleviating environmental concerns, including moving and enlarging 117 acre (0.47348262 km²) of wetlands, and $30 million (1987, $54 million in 2007) for utility relocation. Work in 1987 consisted primarily of excavation, embankment building and land acquisition.

Because of problems with pavement on other roads in the system and anticipating heavy traffic on the new Interstate, the tollway authority decided to pave I-355 with pavement expected to last 20 years. Construction workers laid concrete on the tollway to a thickness of 12 inches (30 cm) over an 8-inch (20 cm) sub-base. The new pavement also incorporated fly ash
Fly ash
Fly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion, and comprises the fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash. In an industrial context, fly ash usually refers to ash produced during combustion of coal...

 and less cement, allowing the pavement to achieve maximum strength faster than pure concrete.

One of the last issues settled prior to the opening of the tollway was the highway's number. Originally, tollway officials designated the new road I-355. Early in 1988, however, the tollway administration received a letter from the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...

 (FHWA) indicating that the highway should be named Interstate 455. FHWA policy at the time dictated that auxiliary Interstate routes that join two other Interstate Highways should start with an even number. IDOT argued the highway more closely resembles a spur from I-55. Ultimately, the tollway authority kept the I-355 designation.

Governor James R. Thompson
James R. Thompson
James Robert Thompson, Jr. , also known as Big Jim Thompson, was the 37th and longest serving Governor of the US state of Illinois...

 and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner dedicated the North–South Tollway on December 22, 1989. When it opened, officials estimated travel times from Schaumburg to Oak Brook would be reduced from 55 minutes to 34 minutes, and from Wheaton to Darien
Darien, Illinois
Darien is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, USA. The population was 22,086 at the 2010 census.A suburb of Chicago, Darien was named after a town in Connecticut.-Popular culture:...

 from 60 to 34 minutes. Tollway officials also estimated that 200,000 cars per day would use I-355. This figure has since been shown to be slightly optimistic, with maximum average daily traffic values approaching 170,200 only at the northern end of the Interstate. The initial length of I-355 was 20.01 miles (32.2 km) from I-55 north to I-290.

Opening

I-355 opened at the stroke of midnight on December 24, 1989. As a Christmas "gift", the first two days of operation were free. Because of lower traffic counts at the north and south ends of the highway and lack of construction money, tollway officials built the road with four lanes from North Avenue (Illinois Route 64
Illinois Route 64
Illinois Route 64 is an east–west road in north-central Illinois. Its western terminus is at the Iowa state line, connecting with U.S. Route 52 and Iowa Highway 64 via the Savanna-Sabula Bridge at the Mississippi River west of Savanna...

) to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88
Interstate 88 (west)
Interstate 88 is an intrastate Interstate Highway in the state of Illinois. It runs from an interchange with Interstate 80 near Silvis and Moline to an interchange with Interstates 290 and 294 in Hillside, near Chicago...

) on the north end, and around I-55 on the south end. As early as 1991, tollway officials had drawn up plans to widen the highway to three lanes in each direction. Widening from North Avenue to Butterfield Road (Illinois Route 56
Illinois Route 56
Illinois Route 56 is an east–west state road in northern and northeastern Illinois. It runs from the interchange of Illinois Route 47 at U.S. Route 30 in Sugar Grove east to US 12/US 20/US 45 by Bellwood...

) took place in 1995. The old lines marking the former shoulder can still be seen in the right lane as a result of the tollway authority's attempt to grind them away.

After the new road opened, congestion decreased considerably on nearby north–south arteries. The DuPage County Division of Transportation calculated that congestion had decreased on Illinois 53 by 20%, and the volume of cars on nearby north–south roads Illinois 53, Illinois 59
Illinois Route 59
Illinois Route 59 is a north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs south from Illinois Route 83 in Antioch to Interstate Highway 55 in Shorewood, spanning the north–south width of Chicago's western suburbs...

 and Illinois 83
Illinois Route 83
Illinois Route 83 is a major north–south state road in northeast Illinois. It stretches from U.S. Highway 30 by Lynwood and Dyer, Indiana north to the Wisconsin border by Antioch at Highway 83. Incidentally, this alignment is concentric with Interstate 294...

 had decreased. On Illinois 53 between Ogden Avenue and Roosevelt Road, traffic counts sank from 21,400 to 11,800 vehicles per day. In addition, traffic on the exit ramp from the Tri-State Tollway
Tri-State Tollway
The Tri-State Tollway is a U.S. toll road maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority in northeastern Illinois which is considered one of the most heavily traveled highways in the country...

 (Interstate 294
Interstate 294
Interstate 294 is a tolled Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois, U.S.A.. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at Interstates 80 and 94, and Illinois Route 394 to Northbrook at I-94. Interstate 294 is long; are shared with I-80....

) to I-55 dropped 10% in 12 months. Drivers also reported decreases in travel time from one end of the county to the other of up to 40 minutes. However, the opening of the tollway also greatly increased congestion on I-290 near the northern terminus. A construction project in the summer months of 1990 widened I-290 just north of the tollway, at a cost of $2–2.5 million (1990, $3–4 million in 2007).

In spite of the apparent success of the tollway opening, traffic counts and projected toll revenues were initially lower than projected, with an estimated 65,000 motorists per day traveling along the tollway, generating $55,000–65,000 (1990, $87,000–103,000 in 2007) in daily toll revenues. In addition, a spate of lawsuits were filed regarding the payment of contractors and subcontractors. Numerous lien
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...

s filed by subcontractors against the tollway were settled in June at a cost of $10.1 million. (1990, $15.9 million in 2007) The tollway authority released an additional $1 million (1992) in May 1992 to further settle claims made by the general contractor, entering arbitration soon afterwards to settle another $1.6–27 million (1992, $2.5–43 million in 2007) the contractor claimed it was owed. By 2005, average annual daily traffic values had risen to a range of 77,400 to 170,200 vehicles per day.

As early as 1989, the tollway authority had discussed implementing automatic toll collection across the entire system to relieve congestion caused by traffic stopping at mainline toll barriers. The tollway authority began testing I-PASS
I-Pass
I-PASS is the electronic toll collection system used by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority on its toll highways. It uses the same transponder as the E-ZPass system used in the Northeastern US, and the Indiana Toll Road's i-Zoom program....

, the tollway system's electronic payment method, on the entire stretch of I-355 in 1993 at various tollbooths; by September 1994, every plaza on I-355 accepted I-PASS. By 1998, the tollway authority had installed dedicated I-PASS lanes (lanes specifically set aside for electronic toll collections) at both mainline toll barriers. In 1999, I-355 became the first tollway to receive I-PASS Express Lanes (also known as open road tolling
Open road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...

, or ORT). With the installation of the express lanes, vehicles with I-PASS could be tolled at highway speeds of 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h). In 2005, the tollway authority widened the express lanes from two lanes to three lanes in each direction. This allowed the number of express lanes to match the number of travel lanes on the tollway.

Unlike the other tollways in the tollway system, there are no oases
Illinois Tollway oasis
An Illinois Tollway oasis is a type of commercialized rest area sited along interstate highways that are toll roads in Illinois, United States. The seven oases offer food and gasoline vendors and are found in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, DeKalb, and Belvidere...

 on the Veterans Memorial Tollway. This is primarily due to the widespread access to food and fuel throughout the western suburbs when construction began in the late 1980s. When the southern extension was opened in Will County in 2007, that segment of road also did not have any oases.

Southern extension

In addition to the original alignment of I-355, the Transportation Plan of April 1962 included the concept of a route that ran from Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook, Illinois
Bolingbrook is a large village in Will and DuPage Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 US Census, the population is 73,366...

 south to Joliet
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

. After the northern portion of I-355 opened in 1989, the Illinois General Assembly
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...

 authorized the tollway authority to begin studying the southern extension of I-355.

The discovery of the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
The Hine's Emerald Dragonfly is a dragonfly in the family Corduliidae.Globally, the species is extremely rare. The largest breeding population known is in Door County, Wisconsin...

, an endangered species, and related concerns for the environmental health of the Des Plaines River wetlands in 1995, ignited a series of legal challenges that delayed construction of the I-355 extension for several years. The Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...

 filed a lawsuit in 1996 to block planning of the southern extension. In January 1997, a federal judge sided with the Sierra Club, halting construction of the southern extension while the state appealed. In 1999, the state dropped its appeal and amended the environmental impact study (EIS) to meet the Sierra Club's concerns. The state released the supplemental EIS in 2000, and in 2002 the FHWA issued a Record of Decision, allowing construction of the tollway to proceed after six years of delays. Land acquisition and utility relocation took place in 2004. Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...

's $5.6 billion Congestion-Relief Program for the Illinois Tollway passed the General Assembly in September 2004, with $729.3 million being set aside for the extension. Bidding on an excavation contract passed on November 18, 2004 with construction beginning several days later.

To document and reduce the impact of construction on the dragonfly's habitat, construction crews agreed to keep carcasses of any dragonfly kills. In addition, the tollway authority funded the construction of separate habitats for the dragonfly near the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Lemont
Lemont, Illinois
Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is roughly southwest of Chicago. The population was 16,625 at the 2007 Special Census.-History:...

 and in two other preserves in Cook and Will counties. In late 2005, construction began on the roadway of the 12.5 miles (20.1 km) long southern extension of I-355 from I-55 in Bolingbrook to I-80 in New Lenox.

Another controversy erupted in February 2006, when the tollway authority threatened to build the tollway with no interchanges unless the suburbs through which the new extension ran contributed $20 million for construction of the interchanges. This marked the first time that the tollway authority had required local municipalities to contribute funds for interchange construction. The towns of Homer Glen, Lemont, New Lenox, Lockport and Will County agreed in a June 2006 intergovernmental agreement to provide $20 million in both cash and in-kind contributions for the interchanges.

The southern extension is expected to become an economic catalyst for municipalities located along the tollway. The Village of New Lenox estimates that it will receive an additional $12 million in sales taxes after its two malls are built out. In Lockport, officials have announced that new Home Depot and SuperTarget stores are planned for the areas near 159th Street and I-355. Commercial developers are also building large warehouse facilities in areas near the Lockport interchanges.

One of "the most impressive engineering feats on the state's 274 miles (441 km) of toll roads" is the Des Plaines River Valley Bridge
Des Plaines River Valley Bridge
The Des Plaines River Valley Bridge is a post-tensioned concrete girder bridge in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It carries Interstate 355 over the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, several railroad lines, Bluff Road,...

, a bridge over the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system, by way of the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers...

, the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...

, Bluff Road, New Avenue, numerous railroads, and a major Commonwealth Edison utility corridor. The bridge is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) long, and constituted $125 million of the cost of the extension. Work on the bridge included the construction of 34 piers and elevation of existing high-voltage electricity lines to accommodate the highway. To limit the number of piers in the valley, the tollway authority built the bridge with both 170 feet (52 m) pre-stressed bulb tee girders and 270 feet (82 m) post-tensioned segmental concrete girders. This was $12 million cheaper than the concrete box girder design option, and $50 million less than the steel plate girder design option. A design-build
Design-Build
Design-build is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity known as the design–builder or design–build contractor...

 clause in the original contract for the bridge, in addition to success in the design-build contracts on the 2004–2007 Tri-State Tollway
Tri-State Tollway
The Tri-State Tollway is a U.S. toll road maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority in northeastern Illinois which is considered one of the most heavily traveled highways in the country...

 widening and reconstruction, allowed project managers to redesign and build the new bridge.

The tollway authority held a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony on Veterans Day
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...

 (November 11), 2007, officially renaming the entire length of I-355 the Veterans Memorial Tollway. Ceremonies were held on the tollway near the 127th Street interchange in Lemont, at 147th Street in Homer Glen, and at U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...

 in New Lenox. In addition to the dedication, the tollway authority sponsored a Charity Walk/Run/Roll and "Roll the Tollway," a charity pre-opening bicycle ride on the highway's south extension. After noting the success of the festival, a tollway spokesman announced plans to repeat the event annually, including the closure of the entire southern extension. He later clarified the tollway's position, indicating that while the extension would probably not be closed in its entirety in the future, a possible 5 kilometres (3 mi) ride across the Des Plaines River Valley Bridge may be held. At around 10:00 pm on November 11, a group of Illinois State Police
Illinois State Police
The Illinois State Police is the state police force of Illinois. Officially established in 1922, the Illinois State Police have over 3,000 personnel and 21 districts. The main facilities of the Illinois State Police Academy, which were constructed in 1968, are located in Springfield. Prior to...

 vehicles and tollway maintenance vehicles escorted the first motorists southbound along the I-355 extension, stopping at each interchange to remove barricades. By the time the maintenance crews began to remove barricades along the northbound lanes of the extension, a group of 50 to 60 vehicles had gathered behind the crews.

Veterans Memorial Trail

As part of constructing the southern extension, the tollway authority donated a 15 to 20 ft (4.6 to 6.1 m) wide corridor to local municipalities for the construction of a multi-use trail, named the Veterans Memorial Trail, that will run along most of the length of the tollway from I-80 to I-55. Completion of the trail is expected to cost $10 million, with funding to be provided by local communities along the path. A new construction fund for the trail was created from registration fees collected for "Roll the Tollway." The Active Transportation Alliance announced on January 29, 2008 that about $108,000 was raised through "Roll the Tollway". Of this amount, $70,000 was set aside for preliminary engineering studies on the 10.5 mile (16.9 km) bicycle trail. The remaining amount was directed towards advocacy efforts for the Chicago Bicycle Federation and other local bicycle clubs.

The initial engineering phase of the bike trail has been completed in the form of a the I-355 Area Trails Master Plan, a framework created by Housel Lavigne Associates designed to distribute the work of creating and funding the trail among local communities. The Forest Preserve District of Will County has begun work on the Veterans Memorial Trail from International Parkway, Woodridge
Woodridge, Illinois
Woodridge is a suburb of Chicago, located primarily in DuPage County, Illinois with portions in Will County and Cook County. It uses the 630 and 331 area codes. The population was 30,934 at the 2000 census. A special census commissioned in 2003 put the population at 33,253...

, to 135th Street, Romeoville, and will then extend the trail to U.S. 6 in the Village of New Lenox
New Lenox, Illinois
New Lenox is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village population is estimated to be 24,938 as of 2006. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning forecasts New Lenox will have a population of 90,652 in 2030.-Geography:...

. This addition will link the trail to a number of businesses in New Lenox, including a shopping mall currently being constructed, Silver Cross Hospital, and medical offices. The Omnibus Appropriations Act included $470,000 in federal funding for construction of the first phase of the trail.

Route description

The southern terminus of I-355 is northeast of New Lenox, where the highway intersects I-80. I-355 is routed north and slightly west through rural, hilly portions of Will County. Just after the US 6 interchange (mile 1.0), tollway drivers pay a toll at Spring Creek Toll Plaza, the only toll plaza on the southern extension of I-355. It continues north through the rural sections of Will County, having exits that serve the towns of Homer Glen
Homer Glen, Illinois
Homer Glen is a village, located southwest of Chicago, in Homer Township, Will County, Illinois. As of a 2004 special census, the village had a total population of 24,083...

 and Lockport
Lockport, Illinois
Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, that incorporated in 1853. Lockport is located in northeastern Illinois, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and north of Joliet, at locks connecting Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the Des Plaines River via the Lockport...

. At 135th Street (approximately mile 8.0) in Lemont, Interstate 355 briefly enters Cook County. After an interchange at 127th Street (mile 9.0), I-355 crosses over the Des Plaines River on the Des Plaines River Valley Bridge
Des Plaines River Valley Bridge
The Des Plaines River Valley Bridge is a post-tensioned concrete girder bridge in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It carries Interstate 355 over the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, several railroad lines, Bluff Road,...

 before returning to Will County. Shortly north of the bridge, I-355 intersects I-55 at Bolingbrook (mile 12.5). Multiple flyover ramps connect all directions of both highways.

North of I-55, I-355 continues to run almost due north through the established western suburbs of Chicago in DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...

. Travelers pay another toll just north of Boughton Road, at the Boughton Road Toll Plaza (mile 13.5). Continuing north, I-355 has another multiple flyover interchange with I-88
Interstate 88 (west)
Interstate 88 is an intrastate Interstate Highway in the state of Illinois. It runs from an interchange with Interstate 80 near Silvis and Moline to an interchange with Interstates 290 and 294 in Hillside, near Chicago...

 (miles 19.5 and 23.0), officially designated the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. On the southern end of the interchange, northbound I-355 has exits to both directions of I-88. I-355 then swings below I-88 and runs side-by-side with the other tollway for 1 miles (2 km). Southbound exits to both directions of I-88 are at the northern end of the interchange. At the Army Trail Road Toll Plaza (mile 29.0), through traffic pays the last toll of the tollway. I-355 has no tolls north of the Army Trail Road exit (mile 30) in Addison
Addison, Illinois
Addison is a village located west of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 35,914 at the 2000 census. The estimated population was 36,378 as of 2002.The Village of Addison lies on Salt Creek...

. There is one untolled exit (mile 31.5) at U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...

 (Lake Street) north of the tollway. I-355 terminates at the I-290 interchange near the border of the villages of Itasca and Addison
Addison, Illinois
Addison is a village located west of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 35,914 at the 2000 census. The estimated population was 36,378 as of 2002.The Village of Addison lies on Salt Creek...

.

The northernmost two toll plazas (Boughton Road and Army Trail Road) charge $1.00 cash and $0.50 for cars with I-PASS and E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...

. The Spring Creek Toll Plaza charges $2.00 for travelers paying with cash and $1.00 for I-PASS and E-ZPass. All three toll plazas force traffic paying with cash to exit right into an area, separate from the dedicated I-PASS lanes. Drivers paying with cash then pay their tolls at manned plaza tollbooths. I-PASS and E-ZPass equipped cars and trucks are permitted to stay on the mainline and pay tolls at highway speeds in the tollway's Open Road Tolling lanes.

On I-355, the only control cities
Control city
A control city is a city or locality posted on a traffic sign indicating forward destinations on a certain route. These destinations aid motorists using the highway system to reach destinations along the various routes...

 that are actual cities are Joliet and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. Other control cities on I-355 are limited to general areas of suburban Chicago. For example, control cities for I-355 while on I-55 are "West Suburbs" and "Southwest Suburbs". The control city for areas north of I-88 are "Northwest Suburbs".

Because of increasing congestion, the Veterans Memorial Tollway has been widened to eight lanes between 75th Street and US Route 34. The tollway authority added the 4 miles (6.4 km), $60.4 million project to its Congestion Relief Plan in mid 2007, and the new lanes opened on October 24, 2009.

Exit list

External links

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