Can this interchange be fixed? Tollway wants to tame I-355/I-88 gridlock

It’s seemingly inevitable. Your swift eastbound cruise on I-88 devolves into a slog around 4:30 p.m. as traffic merging onto I-355 congeals.

Likewise — every afternoon rush hour, southbound I-355 drivers grit their teeth at gridlock approaching I-88.

The sprawling interchange connecting the Reagan and Veterans memorial tollways has been described by engineers as a “bottleneck on the system.”

That’s why the Illinois tollway has launched a massive redo of the interchange, intended to relieve congestion, repair aging infrastructure and expand access and mobility, officials said.

In late January, the agency approved a $35.3 million contract with Oak Brook-based Hanson Professional Services Inc. for master plan design services for the interchange. Work includes studying and designing improvements to the roadway, ramps, bridges and other elements.

Chief Engineer Manar Nashif displayed a photo of I-355 gridlock to the board.

“As you can see just by the traffic and the congestion that we see here, the time to start these studies really is now,” he said.

Here’s some quick facts about the project.

• Approximately 300,000 vehicles use the interchange daily.

• A number of communities will be impacted, including Downers Grove, Lisle and Lombard.

• It’s more than just roadway. Dozens of ramps, bridges and retaining walls will be revamped.

• Tollway planners estimate developing the master plan alone could take about two years.

• Also included in the work are improvements at northbound I-355 from Maple Avenue to the I-355 ramp near Lisle.

• Cost estimates start at $1.5 billion. Along with design and construction, the tollway will undertake traffic, environmental and roadway studies.

The interchange fix is part of the tollway’s new seven-year capital program, “Bridging the Future.”

“Bridging the Future” provides a transition between the massive 15-year, $14 billion Move Illinois program that winds down in 2027 and the next big capital plan, officials said.

The latest capital plan runs from 2025 to 2031. Along with modernizing infrastructure it will pay for designing future projects such as upgrading Route 390’s western terminus at Lake Street in Hanover Park, and bridge and pavement repairs to I-90 between Elgin and I-39.