After years of gritting their teeth through a construction zone, Tri-State Tollway (I-294) drivers are getting a treat.
One new southbound lane opens next week on the Central Tri-State between Irving Park Road and North Avenue.
The tollway is in the midst of a massive rebuild and widening on the Central Tri-State between Balmoral Road in Rosemont and 95th Street near Oak Lawn. The 22-mile project wraps up in 2027.
The fifth lane will be transitioned gradually as workers shift temporary lanes accommodating construction back to a normal configuration.
Motorists can expect some nightly lane closures in both directions from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. this week.
The added lane should debut overnight between Sept. 8 and Sept. 9.
“While our work is not yet completed, we understand the inconvenience roadwork can cause, and we want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your patience,” Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said in a statement.
A fifth northbound lane between North and Balmoral avenues will debut later this year.
Meanwhile on a related project, nightly closures of eastbound I-290 kick off this week to enable crews to install a bridge beam at I-290 and I-88.
As part of the Tri-State project, workers are rebuilding the problematic interchange.
Nightly closures of eastbound I-290 will run from 1 to 5 a.m. for about three weeks. Detours will take drivers to southbound I-294, through the Cermak Road interchange, onto northbound I-294 and back to I-290.
Drivers who are detoured will not be charged tolls.
The ramp taking traffic from southbound 294 to eastbound I-290 also will close at night.