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Interstate 88 (Illinois)

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This article is about the Interstate Highway in Illinois. For the Interstate Highway in New York, see Interstate 88 (New York).

Interstate 88 marker

Interstate 88

Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Map
I-88 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT and ISTHA
Length140.60 mi[2][3] (226.27 km)
ExistedJuly 1987[1]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end
 I-80 / IL 5 / IL 92 / IL 110 (CKC) near East Moline
Major intersections
East end
 I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Hillside
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountiesRock Island, Whiteside, Lee, Ogle, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook
Highway system
← IL 84→ IL 89

Interstate 88 (I-88) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Illinois that runs from an interchange with I-80 near Silvis and Moline to an interchange with I-290 and I-294 in Hillside, near Chicago. I-88 is 140.60 miles (226.27 km) long. This route is not contiguous with I-88 in New York. Since 2010, most of I-88 has been part of the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway. The highway also runs through the cities of Aurora, Naperville, DeKalb, and Dixon. East of Rock Falls, the route is a part of the Illinois Tollway system.

Route description

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I-88 runs concurrently with Illinois Route 110 (IL 110) and its speed limit is 70 mph (110 km/h) west of IL 47. East of this point, the speed limit is 65 mph (105 km/h) to the Aurora toll plaza, and 60 mph (97 km/h) for the rest of its route.[4]

East Moline to Rock Falls

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Starting at I-80 at a cloverleaf interchange, IL 5 ends there while IL 92 continues eastward. I-88 begins at that interchange and then traverses eastward. Immediately east of the cloverleaf, I-88, IL 92, and IL 110 meet a road at a diamond interchange. This road used to be part of IL 2 and IL 92. They then traverse eastward until IL 92 branches off east near Joslin. The freeway then meets the next two local roads, each having a diamond interchange. One of the interchanges serves Hillsdale while the other one serves Erie. The two routes then meet IL 78 near Lyndon. Near Como, they then meet US 30 at a trumpet interchange. South of Rock Falls, they then meet IL 40 at a diamond interchange. East of Yeoward Addition, they again meet U.S. Route 30 (US 30) at a diamond interchange.[4]

Rock Falls to Aurora

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After US 30, I-88/IL 110 becomes an ISTHA-maintained tollway. However, at the IL 26 interchange, there are no tolls present on each ramp. Beyond that, the tollway crosses under US 52 without direct access. Then, the tollway crosses through its first mainline toll plaza. Further east, they meet IL 251 (at a diamond interchange) and I-39/US 51 (at a cloverleaf interchange) at Rochelle. From then on, they meet another mainline toll plaza. In DeKalb, they meet Annie Glidden Road at a trumpet interchange, then cross over IL 23 without direct access, serve DeKalb Oasis, and meet Peace Road at a four-ramp parclo. South of Nottingham Woods, they meet IL 47 at a five-ramp parclo with two ramps. Further east, IL 56 enters eastward on the tollway. They then meet Orchard Road at a four-ramp parclo. Then, IL 56 leaves the freeway at the IL 31 interchange.[4]

Aurora to Hillside

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Across the Fox River, I-88/IL 110 meet another toll plaza. Then, the tollway meets Farnsworth Avenue at a six-ramp parclo near the Chicago Premium Outlets, Eola Road, IL 59 at a diverging diamond interchange, Winfield Road at a diamond interchange, Naperville Road at a mix of partial interchanges, and IL 53 at an incomplete parclo. Beyond that, they meet I-355 at a mix of interchanges. At Highland Avenue interchange, all but the westbound onramp are present. The other one enters I-88 westbound from Downers Drive. After that, the eastbound tollway meets another mainline toll plaza. After that, I-88 and IL 110 then meet Midwest Road at a two-ramp incomplete parclo (no westbound on/offramp), then IL 83 at a three-ramp incomplete parclo, 22nd Street at a right-in/right-out (no eastbound on/offramp), another mainline toll plaza for westbound traffic, and I-294/IL 38. Beyond I-294/IL 38, the tollway briefly becomes a free road before I-88 ends at I-290. At that point, IL 110 continues east via I-290 all the way toward the Jane Byrne Interchange.[4]

History

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Western terminus of I-88 at the interchange with I-80 in East Moline

Prior to its designation as an Interstate Highway, the route was known as IL 5 and, before that, IL 190.

In 1975, IL 5 was extended westward to Rock Falls. Back then, only a small portion south of Rock Falls was free.[5] At that point, there were two proposed freeways connecting each individual cities, FAP 402 (a proposed freeway to Clinton, Iowa) and FAP 403 (another proposed freeway to East Moline). However, only FAP 403 was being built.[6][7] By 1979, IL 5 finished completing the FAP 403 freeway.[8]

The reason for I-88's original designation and continued existence as an Interstate has to do with a technicality in the old National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL). Originally passed in 1973, the NMSL was amended in 1987 to permit 65-mile-per-hour (105 km/h) speed limits on rural stretches of Interstate Highways only. Even though IL 5 was fully up to Interstate Highway standards, it still had to carry a 55-mile-per-hour (89 km/h) limit because of this wording in NMSL. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) petitioned the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to redesignate IL 5 as an Interstate, and, in 1987, AASHTO approved the request and assigned the I-88 numbering to the highway.[1] The NMSL would be completely repealed only eight years later in 1995, but the I-88 shields remain to this day, even though Chicago–Kansas City Expressway (IL 110) markers are being posted throughout the entire length of I-88, since it is now part of the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway project, bannered with special "CKC" logos.

Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway

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Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway in Naperville, heading east

The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, originally known as the East-West Tollway, is a toll road in northern Illinois.

Opened November 21, 1958, it was initially designated as US Route 30 Toll (US 30 Toll), and later IL 190. The original routing extended from the I-294 interchange near Hillside to IL 47 near Sugar Grove. IL 56 was overlapped on the East-West Tollway between North Aurora and Sugar Grove in 1965.

Map of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, the tolled portion of I-88

When the East-West Tollway was extended to Dixon in the 1970s, the IL 190 numbering was removed from the stretch between Aurora and Sugar Grove, making that section strictly IL 56. Once complete, the new routing of the combined tollway and freeway between I-80 near the Quad Cities and I-294 became designated as IL 5. In the late 1980s, it was renumbered I-88.

Officially, the tollway portion begins in Rock Falls, starting at the intersection with US 30 at milemarker 44, although the first toll plaza does not appear until after the IL 26 interchange in Dixon, making the section between US 30 and IL 26 technically a freeway. It continues as a tollway until its terminus in Hillside, although there is a free section between exit 76 (IL 251) and exit 78 (I-39). West of US 30 to I-80, I-88 is a freeway. The tollway portion is 96 miles (154 km) long.

After the death of Illinois native and former President Ronald Reagan in 2004, ISTHA voted to rename the toll roadway "Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway" in his memory, as it passes near his birthplace of Tampico and grazes the south outskirts of his boyhood hometown of Dixon. The tollway portion of I-88 was previously known as the "East–West Tollway" and is still displayed as such on some signs near Chicago.

There is no direct off-ramp access to US 52, IL 23, IL 25, and IL 83 (northbound). In addition, I-88 merges with IL 56 for a short distance.

Although a federal law, 23 U.S.C. § 111, prohibits the operation of commercial rest areas constructed after January 1, 1960, on Interstate Highways, the DeKalb oasis was constructed at milepost 93 in 1975, prior to the route's designation as I-88, and remains in operation.

From 2005 lasting through 2012, ISTHA reconstructed and widened much of the original portion of I-88, between York Road and IL 56. Approximately $991.6 million (equivalent to $1.3 billion in 2023[9]) was budgeted for I-88 over that period.[10] Between 2005 and 2009, I-88 was reconstructed and widened to four lanes in each direction between IL 59 and York Road, with work progressing gradually from west to east. The project included a reconstruction and reconfiguration of the Naperville Road interchange.[11] Between IL 56 and the Aurora Toll Plaza, I-88 was reconstructed and widened to three lanes in each direction, including the reconstruction of the IL 31 interchange and new bridges over the Fox River.[12][13]

Exit list

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CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Rock IslandHampton Township0.000.00

 IL 5 west / IL 92 west – Moline, Rock Island		Continuation beyond western terminus; western end of IL 92 concurrency
East Moline1A-B


 I-80 / IL 110 (CKC) west to I-74 – Des Moines, Peoria		Signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west); western end of IL 110 concurrency; I-80 exit 4B
0.751.212Old IL 2
Joslin5.699.166
 IL 92 east (38th Avenue North) – Joslin		Eastern end of IL 92 concurrency
Hillsdale10.2616.5110Hillsdale, Port Byron
WhitesideErie18.4429.6818Erie, AlbanyTo IL 84
Lyndon25.7041.3626 IL 78 (Crosby Road) – Morrison, ProphetstownFormer IL 2
Rock Falls36.1658.1936
 To US 30 – Clinton, Rock Falls, Sterling
41.1166.1641 IL 40 (Hoover Road) – Rock Falls, Sterling
43.9870.7844 US 30 – Joliet, Rock FallsEastern end of Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway; western end of Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
LeeDixon54.1287.1054 IL 26 (Galena Avenue) – Dixon
56.1590.36Dixon Toll Plaza 69
OgleRochelle75.87122.1076 IL 251 – Rochelle, Mendota
78.33126.0678 I-39 / US 51 – Bloomington, Normal, RockfordSigned as exits 78A (south) and 78B (north); I-39 exit 97
DeKalbDeKalb86.25138.81DeKalb Toll Plaza 66
91.12146.6491

 Annie Glidden Road to IL 38 / IL 23 – DeKalb		Toll on westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps
93.25150.07DeKalb Oasis
93.73150.8494
 Peace Road to IL 38		Toll on westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps
KaneSugar Grove108.97175.37109 IL 47Toll on westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps
Aurora113.00181.86113

 IL 56 west to US 30 – Sugar Grove		Western end of IL 56 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
114.06183.56114 CR 83 (Orchard Road)Was exit 115; toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
North Aurora116.52187.52117
 IL 31 (Lincolnway Street) / IL 56 east		Eastern end of IL 56 concurrency; toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
Aurora117.48189.07Aurora Toll Plaza 61
118.88191.32119Farnsworth AvenueSigned as exits 119A (south) and 119B (north) westbound; toll on westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps
DuPage120.67–
120.86		194.20–
194.51		121
 To CR 14 (Eola Road)		Toll on westbound exit and eastbound entrance ramps
Naperville122.93197.84123 IL 59Diverging diamond interchange as of October 2015
Warrenville124.81200.86125 CR 13 (Winfield Road)Toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
Naperville127.01–
127.30		204.40–
204.87		127
 To CR 23 (Naperville Road)		Toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps
Lisle129.63208.62130 IL 53 (Lincoln Avenue)Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Downers Grove130.94–
132.82		210.73–
213.75		131

 I-355 Toll (Veterans Memorial Tollway) to US 34 (Ogden Avenue) – Joliet, Northwest Suburbs		Signed as exits 131A (south) and 131B (north) westbound; signed as exits 131 (south) and 132 (north) eastbound; I-355 exit 20
133.88215.46134 CR 9 (Highland Avenue)Toll on eastbound exit and westbound entrance ramps; westbound entrance via Downers Drive
Oak Brook134.62216.65Meyers Road Toll Plaza 52 (eastbound)
136.02218.90136 CR 15 (Midwest Road)Toll on eastbound exit and entrance; toll on entrance ramp
136.77220.11137
 IL 83 south (Kingery Highway)		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; toll on eastbound entrance ramp
137.29220.95138

 22nd Street (Cermak Road) to IL 83 north (Kingery Highway)		Westbound entrance and exit; toll on entrance ramp
137.73221.65York Road Toll Plaza 53 (westbound)
138.27222.52138

 I-294 Toll south (Tri-State Tollway) to York Road – Indiana		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; exit includes direct exit ramp onto York Road; York Road exit signed as exit 138 eastbound; I-294 exit 29
CookHillside139.64224.73139

 I-294 Toll north (Tri-State Tollway) – Milwaukee, O'Hare

 I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) – Rockford		Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-294 exit 31A
—

 I-294 Toll south (Tri-State Tollway) – Indiana

 IL 38 west (Roosevelt Road)		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
140.15–
140.38		225.55–
225.92		—



 I-290 east (Eisenhower Expressway) to US 12 / US 20 / US 45 (Mannheim Road) – Chicago		Eastbound exit only; all trucks must exit onto a local lane



 I-290 east / IL 110 (CKC) east (Eisenhower Expressway) – Chicago		Eastern terminus; eastern end of Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway; eastern end of IL 110 concurrency; I-290 exit 15A
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b Mehler, Neil H. (July 6, 1987). "Road with Many Names Gets a New One". Chicago Tribune (National ed.). p. C3. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  2. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d Google (November 18, 2020). "Overview map of I-88" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Illinois Department of Transportation (1975). Illinois Highway Map (Map). [1:772,500]. Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
  6. ^ "Illinois Supplemental Freeway System" (PDF). Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Illinois Department of Transportation (1977). Illinois Highway Map (Map). [1:772,500]. Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
  8. ^ Illinois Department of Transportation (1979). Illinois Highway Map (Map). [1:772,500]. Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
  9. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  10. ^ Staff (September 2007). "Executive Summary" (PDF). Congestion-Relief Program Summary (Report). Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. pp. 3–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  11. ^ Staff (May 5, 2009). "Washington Street to Finley Road Rebuild & Widen Project & Naperville Road Interchange" (PDF). Reagan Memorial Tollway. Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  12. ^ Staff (December 2, 2009). "Aurora Toll Plaza to Orchard Road Rebuild & Widen Project" (PDF). Reagan Memorial Tollway. Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  13. ^ "I-88 Rebuild and Widen Project" (PDF). Reagan Memorial Tollway. Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
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