s in the country (according to the IBTTA, the tollway is the nation's 4th busiest toll road). It is actually a combination of three different Interstates:
The segment containing Interstate 294 is 53 miles (85 km) long; in total, the Tri-State Tollway is actually about 78 miles (126 km) long. Only the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway is longer. Despite its name, the Tri-State Tollway does not enter either Indiana or Wisconsin. On the Indiana side, the Tri-State Tollway ends three miles (5 km) away from the Indiana border and continues as the
, were known as the Tri-State Highway before the Tollway was completed. On the Wisconsin side, the toll road ends just before the border at U.S. Route 41 and Russell Road, although ISTHA maintenance continues to the state line.
The Edens Spur is a 5-mile (8-kilometre) cutover from the Tri-State Tollway to the
. It connects the
portions of the tollway and the Edens Expressway. It is technically a
Northbound traffic on the Edens Expressway has the option of cutting over to the northbound Tri-State Tollway, or remaining on U.S. Highway 41 (
). Southbound traffic on the Tri-State Tollway has the option of cutting over to the southbound Edens Expressway, or remaining on the Tri-State Tollway on the loop
. There are no other ways to enter the Edens Spur at the ends.
(Waukegan Road). There is also an entrance ramp to the Edens Spur westbound at that point.
system. This toll plaza has been upgraded and now has (
Portions of the Tri-State Tollway are referred to in somewhat archaic language during traffic reports and casual conversation. The following are the most common, from south to north:
The Tri-State Tollway was built in the mid- to late 1950s as a bypass of Chicago, as the
(opened in 1956) ran towards downtown. The first section opened August 28, 1958, running from Wisconsin south to and east along the Edens Spur. The rest of the road, from the Edens Spur south to the
, opened December 23 of the same year. It was at first marked as
, which continued east on the Kingery Expressway (now I-80/I-94) to Calumet Avenue (US 41) in
, and ended at the north end of the Tollway, where it merges with US 41. It was also marked as U.S. Highway 30 Toll between its south end (the Calumet Expressway was U.S. Highway 30 Alternate) and the
. In 1959 the Tollway was designated as parts of I-94 and I-294, and the short
In 1998, the authority removed the entire multilane Deerfield Toll Plaza on the Tri-State, then considered one of the worst snags on the tollway system. To make up for the lost tolls, the Tollway Authority built the Huehl Road Toll Plaza on the Edens Spur to charge traffic that followed Interstate 94 into Chicago. In addition, tolls at the Waukegan Toll Plaza were increased, and additional toll plazas built on exits south of Deerfield at Lake-Cook Road, Willow Road and Golf Road (
). Toll collection facilities were also added to entrance ramps to the northbound Tri-State at those points.
Numerous projects to rebuild and widen the entire Tri-State Tollway were completed by early 2010.
Font signage was installed on the Tollway system, and the mileposts of the I-94 portion of the Tri-State Tollway and Edens Spur no longer use the original milepost signage from IL-394 and I-80. Milepost signs north of Lake-Cook Road now use I-94's mileage from south of the Wisconsin state line.
Example: I-294 going north has milepost numbers going up to mile 53. I-294 mile 53 becomes I-94 mile 25 going north with the milepost numbers going down. Milepost numbers are now visible every 1/4 mile, as opposed to the previous signage at 1/2 mile intervals.
| County |
Location |
Plaza # |
Mile
|
Destinations |
Notes |
CookCook 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...
|
South Holland South Holland is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States and serves as the seat of Thornton Township. The population was 22,147 at the 2000 census.-History:...
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0 |
– IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
0 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
1 |
Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis |
| East Hazel Crest East Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 1,607.-Geography:East Hazel Crest is located at ....
|
47 |
3 |
|
|
|
4 |
Dixie HighwayThe Dixie Highway was a United States automobile highway, first planned in 1914 to connect the US Midwest with the Southern United States. It was part of the National Auto Trail system, and grew out of an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final result is better understood as a small network of...
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Hazel Crest Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,816 at the 2000 census. Despite being primarily located in Bremen Township, the village is also located in Rich Township south of 183rd Street and Thornton Township east of I-80/94 The Village is located in...
|
43-45 |
5 |
– IowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
|
North end of I-80 overlap |
| 41 |
6 |
163rd Street Toll Plaza |
| Markham Markham is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,620 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Markham is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
|
40 |
6.5 |
|
|
AlsipAlsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,725 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Alsip, the owner of a brickyard that opened there in 1885...
|
|
12 |
|
|
| Hickory Hills Hickory Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,926 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hickory Hills is located at ....
|
38 |
17.5 |
|
|
| 39 |
19.5 |
83rd Street Toll Plaza (northbound) |
| 36 |
20 |
82nd Street Toll Plaza (southbound) |
JusticeJustice is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States established in 1911. The population was 12,850 as of 2006.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.A major road running through the town is...
|
|
21 |
|
Southbound entrance only |
| Mile-Long Bridge The Mile-Long Bridge is the colloquial name for a long bridge in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. The bridge carries Interstate 294 over the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, numerous railroad lines, and the United Parcel Service intermodal facility... over Des Plaines RiverThe 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....
|
| Hodgkins Hodgkins is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,134 at the 2000 census.A large United Parcel Service sorting facility, known as CACH, is located partly in Hodgkins and partly in nearby Willow Springs on the outskirts of Chicago...
|
34 |
22 |
75th Street, Willow Springs Road (10800 West) |
|
| Indian Head Park Indian Head Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois slightly north of the intersection of Interstate 294 and Interstate 55. The village is south of Western Springs, north of Burr Ridge, and west of Countryside. The population was 3,685 at the 2000 census...
|
37 |
23 |
, St. Louis |
No southbound entrance from I-55 south |
|
24 |
Wolf Road (11200 West) |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Hinsdale Hinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...
|
|
25 |
Hinsdale Oasis |
Western SpringsWestern Springs is a suburb of Chicago located in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 12,493. It is twinned with Rugeley, United Kingdom....
|
|
28 |
|
|
| Hillside Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,155 at the 2000 census.One notable landmark in Hillside is the Mount Carmel Cemetery. On the grounds of the cemetery are the graves of a number of organized crime figures, such as Al Capone and Dion O'Bannion...
|
|
29 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
|
29.5 |
Cermak Road Cermak Road, formerly 22nd Street, is a major east-west artery on Chicago's south side and western suburbs. It is named for assassinated Chicago mayor Anton Cermak.-Points of interest:... , 22nd Street |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 35 |
30 |
Cermak Road Toll Plaza |
|
30.5 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
|
31 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
32 |
|
|
| Berkeley Berkeley is a village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Incorporated in 1924, the population at the 2000 census was 5,245.The town has a commuter railroad station on Metra's Union Pacific/West Line with service to downtown Chicago.-Geography:...
|
|
34 |
|
|
| Franklin Park Franklin Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,800 at the 2004 census.-Geography:Franklin Park is located at ....
|
|
38 |
O'Hare Oasis |
|
38.5 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 33 |
39 |
Irving Park Toll Plaza (southbound) |
RosemontRosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...
|
32 |
40 |
|
|
| 31 |
41 |
|
|
Park Ridge-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...
|
29 |
42 |
Touhy Avenue Touhy Avenue is a major thoroughfare throughout northern Chicago, Illinois as well as the north and northwestern suburbs of the city. It is named for Patrick L. Touhy, a subdivider who was also the son-in-law of Phillip Rogers, an early settler who helped develop Rogers Park... Toll Plaza (northbound) |
|
42 |
Touhy Avenue Touhy Avenue is a major thoroughfare throughout northern Chicago, Illinois as well as the north and northwestern suburbs of the city. It is named for Patrick L. Touhy, a subdivider who was also the son-in-law of Phillip Rogers, an early settler who helped develop Rogers Park...
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
Des PlainesDes Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...
|
|
44.5 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 28 |
45 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Glenview Glenview is a suburban village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 41,847...
|
27 |
49 |
Willow Road |
|
| North end of I-294; south end of I-94 overlap |
| Northbrook Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....
|
24 |
50.5- 53 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
DeerfieldDeerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States and is located approximately 25 miles north of Chicago, Illinois. A portion of the village is in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
|
26 |
54 |
Lake-Cook Road |
|
LakeLake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...
|
|
55 |
Deerfield Road |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a village in the Vernon Township region of Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is a suburb of Chicago, a city in the adjacent Cook County. Its population was 6,108 at the time of the 2000 census. Lincolnshire was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the...
|
23 |
56.5 |
|
|
| Lake Forest Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
|
22 |
59 |
|
|
|
60 |
Lake Forest Oasis |
| Libertyville Libertyville is an affluent northern suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2000 census population was 20,742; the 2005 estimate was 21,760...
|
|
62 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| North Chicago North Chicago is an outer suburb/exurb of the Chicago metropolitan area and is an incorporated city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 35,918 at the 2000 census....
|
20 |
64.5 |
|
|
GurneeGurnee is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 28,834 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 30,772 in 2005. The village borders the city of Waukegan and is considered a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Gurnee is perhaps best known for being the location of...
|
|
67 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
|
68 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
70 |
|
|
WadsworthWadsworth is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,083 at the 2000 census. It is named after , who was on the board of directors for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St...
|
21 |
73.5 |
Waukegan Toll Plaza |
ZionZion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 24,303 as of 2005. The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie. He also started the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only...
|
|
76 |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
|
1B |
0.96 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance. Last exit before tollway. |
|
1A |
0.20 |
Russell Road |
Signed as exit 1 northbound |
|
|
|
|
WisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... state line |