IDOT Considers Toll, Carpool Lanes on Eisenhower

The Illinois Department of Transportation is considering adding a car pool and express toll lane to Interstate 290, an official confirmed Friday.

IDOT officials provided an update on their proposed reconstruction of the Eisenhower Expressway Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune’s Pioneer Press reported.

"Let buses use it for free, let people that are in carpools use it for free, but if you want to use it in a single-occupant vehicle, you're gonna have to pay," Secretary of Transportation Randy Blankenhorn told NBC 5.

The proposed tolls for ineligible cars using the lane could run between 12 cents and 25 cents per mile, officials said, depending on the time of day.

The agency has identified three toll rates: peak hour, peak shoulder and off-peak, an official said.

IDOT aims to add a fourth lane to I-290 in each direction between Mannheim Road and Austin Boulevard, the newspaper reports. The agency would then convert the two center lanes, between I-88 and Racine Avenue, to a "Hot 3+" lane, which would allow car pool vehicles and buses to ride for free. Other commuters could also use the lane but would be charged a toll. Three traffic lanes in each direction would remain free for drivers, the Pioneer Press reports.

"If you're in a car pool of three or more, you ride in (the lane) for free," Pete Harmet of IDOT said. "Everyone else has to pay a toll. The idea is to set a toll rate so you have a 45 mile-per-hour speed through there, minimum, so that is then a reliable trip. As we know, there's days when the Eisenhower is quite unreliable."

IDOT officials cited Florida and California as states where carpool lanes are enforced by either registration or turning a transponder on while carpooling.

Harmet said there had been no final decisions made on how to charge the proposed tolls.

Contact Us