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Northwest Tollway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Northwest Tollway |
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| Length: | 79 miles (127 km) |
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| Formed: | Early 1960s |
| Direction: | East-west |
| From: |  Illinois Route 75 in Rockford |
| To: |   Interstates 90/190 in Chicago |
| Major cities: | Rockford, Elgin, Schaumburg |
| System: | Interstate Highway system Illinois Tollway system |
The Northwest Tollway in Illinois is a 79 mile (127 km) segment of Interstate 90 from Interstate 190 in far northwest Chicago to Illinois Route 75, one mile south of the Wisconsin state line. For 16 miles (26 km), Interstate 90 is concurrent with Interstate 39 and U.S. Route 51. It consists of four lanes west of Elgin (2 each direction), and six east of Elgin (3 each direction).
The Northwest Tollway was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s from the O'Hare area (at the Tri-State Tollway) to the WI line north of Rockford. The route has I-90 on its entire length. From the Rockford Curve to the last exit in IL (IL-75) US-51 and I-39 also run with the Tollway.
East of Interstate 190, Interstate 90 merges into the Kennedy Expressway.
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There are four mainline toll barriers, each having cash tolls of 80 cents (as of January 1, 2005) and I-PASS tolls of 40 cents for a 2-axle passenger vehicle. The South Beloit toll plaza at the Illinois & Wisconsin state line is $1.00 (50 cents for I-PASS users). The barriers are located around the O'Hare Airport area, in Elgin, in Belvidere, and in South Beloit. Interstate 39 travelers exiting/entering at Rockford used to have to pay at the Cherry Valley toll plaza, but that toll plaza has been demolished due to traffic concerns. As of Feb. 2006 the Marengo toll Westbound and the Belvidere Eastbound tolls have been removed. As a result of this change tolls have doubled at these plazas. Eastbound traffic does not pay a toll at Belvidere but pay $0.80 at Marengo (cash users pay $1.60). Westbound traffic pays no toll at Marengo but pays $0.80 at Belvidere (cash users pay $1.60). This was done to accommodate open road tolling construction.
The Northwest Tollway is maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
There are two oases on the Northwest Tollway -- one at Belvidere, and one in Des Plaines by O'Hare. Both are the over-highway oases that have become fixtures of the Illinois Tollway system. There is also a welcome center south of Beloit, WI.
From O'Hare to Huntley, the region around the Northwest Tollway is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Corridor", due to the proximity of commercial and business activity located along the corridor in Northwest Suburban Chicago. Several Fortune 500 companies, large malls, hotels, entertainment & exhibition facilities, restaurants, and retailers are located along the corridor, providing a "gold"mine of profit to communities along the Golden Corridor.
| Toll highways in Illinois |
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| Illinois State Toll Highway Authority |
| Highways |
Northwest Tollway  (I-39/I-90) | Tri-State Tollway    (I-80/I-94/I-294)Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway  (I-88) | North-South Tollway  (I-355) |
| Miscellaneous |
| I-Pass | Illinois Tollway oasis |
