http://www.gcmtravel.comNews from the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee websiteimages/gcmlogo.gifhttp://www.gcmtravel.comhttp://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/borman/index.html Various nighttime restrictions on I-80/94 between Martin Luther King Dr and Central Ave are continuing for the next several months. Beginning at 9 p.m. each working night, crews are restricting various lanes on EB or WB I-80/94. Between midnight and 5 a.m. some nights, crews are closing the roadway for up to 20 minutes at a time during overhead bridge work. Indiana State Police are on hand to help direct traffic through the rolling closures. For more information, visit the Borman Expressway Web site at http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/borman/index.html 8-25-2008http://www.gcmtravel.com Drivers will be using the newly reconstructed exit ramp from SB I-294 to EB 95th St beginning this week as part of the Illinois Tollway's South Tri-State Tollway (I-294/I-80) Rebuild and Widen Project between 95th St and 159th St. The project is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2009. Ramp reconstruction work is scheduled to be completed in early fall. Earlier this month, the two Local Lanes on the mainline shifted onto new pavement on the right shoulder and right lane between 95th St and 159th St. Work continues on the median shoulder and left lanes to rebuild and widen the 12-mile-long roadway section. The SB construction Express Lane that shifts one lane of SB traffic onto the NB side of the roadway remains in place in order to maintain the same number of lanes during construction and to minimize the impact to traffic. Traffic Shift, Ramp Opening Scheduled Tuesday Night One SB mainline lane between 95th St and 159th St will close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19, for pavement striping work in preparation for opening the new exit ramp from SB I-294 to EB 95th St. All mainline lanes and the new ramp will reopen at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, August 20. At that time, the temporary ramp that enabled SB traffic to reach EB and WB 95th St will close. Traffic trying to reach WB 95th St will follow a posted detour, directing traffic to exit at EB 95th St and exit the ramp at 76th Ave to 95th St, where traffic will have full access EB and WB 95th St. The new SB exit ramp to WB 95th St will reopen in the fall. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. 8-19-2008http://www.gcmtravel.com A patching and resurfacing project will begin August 22 in both directions (NB and SB) of Illinois Route 53 from Rand Road to Lake-Cook Road. There will nightly lane closures. Drivers should also expect a single lane to be closed each weekend for this work (except Labor Day weekend). The completion date for this project is October 31. Illinois Department of Transportation 8-14-2008http://www.gcmtravel.com/gcm/policies.jsp The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has implemented a revised policy and registration procedure for users to access Gateway Traveler Information System real-time traffic information. This real-time traffic information includes travel time and congestion data, camera images, dynamic message sign legend information, lane closure and construction information, and incident data. Please click here to start the registration process. It is very important that you read and understand the provisions contained in both the registration procedure and the traffic information access/reuse policy. IDOT wants this process to be convenient and beneficial to our users. We look forward to serving your current and future traffic information needs. 5-8-2008http://www.edensi94.com One lane is closed in each direction along the entire length of the Edens Expressway/Interstate 94. These permanent lane closures will be in place through July north of Old Orchard Rd. and through August south of Old Orchard Rd, weather permitting. The closures are required to complete work on the second and final phase of the Edens Rehabilitation Project, which includes patching and resurfacing six bridge decks and resurfacing all three lanes of the entire length of the 14-mile expressway from Lawrence Ave. to Lake Cook Rd. The project is currently In Stage 2, with the left and center lanes open. The right lane and shoulder are closed. In Stage 3, from the end of July through the end of September, weather permitting, there will be three lanes open in each direction on the Edens Expressway north of Old Orchard Road except during overnight hours, when two lanes will be closed for the final phase of resurfacing and one lane will remain open. The Edens south of Old Orchard Road will have three lanes open in each direction during the daytime starting at the end of August, with the nighttime closures continuing until the end of September. As of last fall, IDOT permanently expanded the service area for IDOT's Emergency Traffic Patrol service from Lake Av to Lake Cook Rd, at the northern terminus of the Edens. These increased patrols will help to ensure that emergency lane blockages are removed as quickly as possible. More information about the Edens project is available online at www.edensi94.com. 4-3-2008http://www.gcmtravel.com Traffic on IL Route 31 is now reduced to one lane in each direction on the southbound side of the road as work begins to reconstruct the bridge carrying traffic over I-88. When work to rebuild the northbound side of the bridge is completed later this summer, traffic will be shifted onto the new lanes on the northbound side of the bridge and work will begin to rebuild the southbound bridge. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Airport Road to the I-88 interchange through the end of 2008. The ramp carrying IL Route 31 traffic to enter westbound I-88 is closed to traffic through late summer for reconstruction of the ramp bridge. A detour is posted directing traffic to go south on IL Route 31 to Indian Trail Road, west on Indian Trail Road to Orchard Road, and north on Orchard Road to enter I-88 westbound at the Orchard Road interchange. The ramp carrying eastbound I-88 traffic exiting to IL Route 31 is expected to be closed from May 1 through late summer. The posted detour for that ramp closure will direct traffic to exit at Orchard Road, go south on Orchard Road to Indian Trail Road, and east on Indian Trail Road to reach IL Route 31. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. 3-20-2008http://www.gcmtravel.com The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is reminding motorists that construction work has resumed on the I-55 Corridor Improvement Project in Will County. Currently, traffic is being shifted into a new configuration between Weber Rd. and I-80. The project will add a third lane to the roadway in both directions from Weber Rd. to I-80 and is intended to improve safety and reduce congestion. Although the existing two lanes of traffic will be maintained in both directions during daytime hours, drivers can expect overnight lane closures in the 14-mile long work zone. Drivers can expect inbound lane closures from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and outbound lane closures from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. In addition, there will be narrow lanes, closed shoulders and lane shifts at multiple locations in the work zone. For more information, please access Illinois Department of Transportation. 2-29-2008http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/borman/index.html The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces the approximately nine-month closures of I-65 between the bridge over I-80/94 and 15th Avenue, the ramp from I-80/94 west to I-65 north, the ramp from I-80/94 west to I-65 south and the ramp from I-80/94 east to I-65 north began March 1. Clearly posted signs are directing traffic to the detours. Until December 2008, various lanes of I-80/94 between Martin Luther King Drive and Central Avenue will be restricted at night while demolition and new bridge construction takes place at the I-65 bridges and ramps and the Colorado Street Bridge. For more information, visit the Borman Expressway Web site at http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/borman/index.html 1-14-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com The SB exit ramp from I-88 to IL Route 31 is scheduled to reopen to traffic overnight on Thursday, August 28 into Friday, August 29. One EB mainline lane will close at 8 p.m. for pavement marking and barrier wall relocation in advance of the ramp opening. The mainline lane will reopen by 5 a.m. on Friday. At that time, the EB exit ramp to IL Route 31 will reopen to traffic. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-27-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com The WB entrance ramp to I-88 from IL Route 31 was closed earlier this spring and will reopen later this fall. The closure will be extended in order to allow the Tollway to eliminate the previously scheduled month-long closure of the WB I-88 exit ramp to IL Route 31. With an average of about 10,000 vehicles a day using the WB exit ramp to IL Route 31, the Tollway has opted to keep the ramp open during construction and reduce inconvenience to drivers. The detour for traffic needing to enter I-88 WB will remain in place routing drivers south on IL Route 31, west on Indian Trail Road, and then north on Orchard Road, to enter WB I-88. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-27-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com The EB exit ramp to Orchard Road is scheduled to close to traffic overnight on Sunday, September 7, for approximately six weeks for ramp reconstruction work. The posted detour will direct traffic to continue EB on I-88, exiting at IL Route 31, south on IL Route 31 to Indian Trail Road, and west on Indian Trail Road to reach Orchard Road. The map shows the detour route. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-27-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com First, the EB exit ramp to IL Route 31 will reopen to traffic on schedule in time for the Friday morning commute. The EB exit ramp closed earlier this spring for reconstruction and realignment of the ramp and reconstruction and lengthening of the ramp bridge carrying traffic over I-88 to accommodate the mainline roadway improvements. The EB exit ramp to Orchard Rd will close in early September for approximately six weeks, also to accommodate the roadway reconstruction and widening. In addition, as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce driver inconvenience during construction, the Tollway has adjusted the construction schedule at the IL Route 31 interchange and will eliminate the planned closure of the WB exit ramp from I-88 to IL Route 31 and reduce inconvenience to Tollway customers. However, to continue reconstruction work on the interchange, the WB entrance ramp from IL Route 31 will remain closed for approximately two more months. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-27-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com A major stage change is scheduled this week at the Dempster St and Touhy Ave Interchanges as part of the Illinois Tollway’s on-going Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Rebuild and Widen Project. The reconstructed entrance ramp from EB Dempster St to the SB Tri-State Tollway (I-294) will reopen to traffic in time for the morning commute on Friday, August 29, while the SB entrance ramp from EB Touhy Ave will close to traffic until spring 2009. A detour will be posted directing traffic south on Des Plaines River Road to I-190, and west on I-190 to reach the SB Tri-State Tollway (I-294) entrance ramp. The SB entrance ramp from WB Touhy Ave will remain open to traffic. The work to reopen the Dempster St ramp and closure of the Touhy Ave ramp will be coordinated to reduce impact on drivers and is scheduled during the overnight hours of Thursday, August 28, into the early morning hours of Friday, August 29. Once the entrance ramp from EB Dempster St ramp is opened to traffic, crews will begin work to close the SB entrance from EB Touhy Ave for reconstruction. The entrance ramp from WB Touhy Ave will remain open to traffic. A detour will be posted. All mainline lanes on I-294 will reopen by 5 a.m. on Friday, August 29. The Touhy Ave entrance ramp will reopen in spring 2009. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-25-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com Drivers will be shifted to new, smooth pavement this weekend as part of the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) Rebuild and Widen Project between Washington St and Finley Rd. The traffic shift will move the two westbound Local Lanes to the right onto new pavement between Washington St and Naperville Rd. The same traffic shift is scheduled the following week in the construction zones between Naperville Rd and Finley Rd and between IL Route 83 and Finley Rd. These traffic shifts onto new pavement bring this project one step closer to completion. Drivers will benefit from four new lanes in each direction between Washington St and Finley Rd by the end of this year. Traffic shifts will begin with overnight lane closures scheduled on Friday, August 22, between Washington St and Naperville Rd for a traffic shift that will move the two WB Local Lanes onto new pavement on the right shoulder and right lane. The counterflow Express Lane on the EB side of the road will remain in place. Traffic entering westbound I-88 from the northbound Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) is already using a new auxiliary lane, which will be in its final configuration after this traffic shift, leading directly to the IL Route 53 exit ramp. Traffic continuing westbound on I-88 will merge left. Traffic shifts to new pavement are scheduled to continue overnight on Thursday, August 28, when traffic in the work zone Local Lanes will be shifted to the right from Naperville Rd to Finley Rd. A traffic shift also is scheduled between the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) ramps and Finley Rd. Finally, the section between IL Route 83 and the I-355 ramps will be shifted right onto new pavement in September. Work will then begin to rebuild the remaining lanes in the new work zone in the median and left lanes. Three lanes will remain open to traffic during peak hours. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-21-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com The SB exit ramp from the Tri-State Tollway (I-94) to EB Grand Ave (IL-132) is closed to accommodate the mainline Rebuild and Widen Project between Dempster Street and the Wisconsin state line. Completion of the project to rebuild and lengthen the Grand Avenue Bridge is scheduled for fall of 2009. The ramp is being reconstructed and realigned to accommodate the Rebuild and widen project and the lengthened Grand Avenue Bridge. A detour is posted directing traffic to continue SB on I-94 and to exit at Milwaukee Avenue and then head north on Milwaukee Avenue to reach Grand Avenue. The ramp is scheduled to reopen in summer 2009. One through lane in each direction and the westbound auxiliary lane on Grand Avenue will be maintained on the WB side of the bridge. The main impacts to Tri-state Tollway traffic will be shoulder closures and temporary overnight lane closures for bridge demolition and reconstruction including beam erection activities. Mainline lane closures will be permitted off-peak only to minimize the impact to traffic. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-20-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com Three Open Road Tolling lanes are now open to traffic at the WB York Road Toll Plaza and drivers entering WB I-88 from NB I-294 now have access to the ORT Lanes. The new configuration shifts the entrance to the counterflow Express lane further west, with the new entrance located west of IL Route 83. Traffic exiting at Spring Road must continue to use the cash lanes at the York Rd Toll Plaza but traffic exiting at IL Route 83 will be able to access the ramp from the ORT lanes after the traffic shift. Drivers in the left lane west of IL Route 83 will enter the Express lane and will not be able to exit until Winfield Road - 11 miles to the west. Traffic planning to exit at Highland Avenue, Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) , IL Route 53 or Naperville Road must stay in the two Local Lanes on the right. Traffic in the Local Lanes will have access to all exits. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-20-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com One lane in each direction on East State Street under I-90 is shifted to the WB side while the EB side becomes a work zone for construction of a new center bridge pier support. One lane in each direction will remain open for local Traffic through early September. Delays are expected. EB traffic between the South Beloit Toll Plaza and the Cherry Valley Interchange is shifted to the WB side of the road in order to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction. WB traffic is shifted to the right to accommodate the traffic configuration, which will be in place throughout the 2008 construction season. Traffic in both directions between the South Beloit Toll Plaza and Rockton road is shifted to the right shoulder and right-most lane in order to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction. All entrance and exit ramps are being maintained at IL Route 173, East Riverside Blvd., and at State Street/BUS U.S.20. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-20-2008http://www.illinoistollway.com WB U.S. 20 Exit Ramp to NB I-39 Closed for I-39/I-90 Rebuild Project Westbound U.S. 20 Exit Ramp to Northbound I-39 to Close July 15 (I-39/I90 Interchange Rebuild Project) The WB U.S. 20 exit ramp to NB I-39 is closed. The WB exit ramp to SB I-39 remain open. Posted detour route keeps traffic within the U.S. 20/I-39 interchange directing motorists to continue WB on U.S. 20 and exit at SB I-39, take SB I-39 and exit at EB U.S. 20 and take EB U.S. 20 to reach NB I-39. The ramp is scheduled to reopen in fall 2008, with WB U.S. 20 traffic able to exit and use the new NB I-39 ramp to reach EB I-90. For more information, please access www.illinoistollway.com. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-TOLL-FYI. 08-20-2008http://www.dot.state.il.us/road/closures.txt For an updated list of state highways in Illinois that have closures in effect, please access: www.dot.state.il.us. The road closure information is also available by phone at 1-800-452-IDOT (4368). 08-14-2008http://www.dot.state.wi.us There are various road closures in Wisconsin due to flooding, for a complete list of these closures please visit www.dot.state.wi.us. 06-12-2008 We have implemented some improvements to the GCM web site to make it more convenient to use: When you scroll and zoom a map to a particular view, the location and zoom information is stored in a cookie on your browser. With this improvement, you can refresh the map to update its real-time information without losing track of the area you were viewing. The layers that you have chosen to view are also saved. The cookie is maintained so your preferred viewing area will be ready to use when you return to the site. The "Reset zoom" map tool has been replaced by the "Reset map" tool which resets the map to its initial location and zoom. A "My Travel Preferences" link has been added to the report pages. You may use this link to view the reports for your preferred locations after viewing the reports for another location 8-8-2006http://www.dot.il.gov/workzone/workzone.html Keep Us Alive Drive 45 is our commitment to keep workers and motorists safe in work zones. Each year, many people are killed in construction zone accidents, both commuters and workers. Please abide the posted speed limit in work zones. When workers are present, it's 45 M.P.H. - It's The Law. Join us in our pledge to increase awareness and promote safe driving in our work zones by displaying an orange ribbon. Together we can make our roadways a safer place to commute and work. With your help, we can see to it that a construction zone is not an end zone. 7-21-2006http://www.iltrafficalert.com The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and its partner The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have developed the Illinois Traffic Alert System. You may register to receive customized traffic reports containing vehicle speeds, travel times, construction, congestion and incident information through your e-mail inbox, cell phone text messaging, or other e-mail enabled mobile device. The system is initially being deployed in the Chicagoland area as part of IDOT's congestion mitigation effort, and will be deployed statewide in the near future. When you register, follow the instructions in order to: Choose the roadway segments about which you want to be notified Select the two times of day when you want to receive alerts Select the days of the week you want to receive alerts Customize alerts so you will receive them only if the average speed on the road is below what you select Customize the type of data you want to receive: incidents, construction, congestion and/or travel times 4-19-2006http://www.drivelesslivemore.com Through an initiative created by IDOT, seven public transportation agencies have launched a public education campaign called drive less, live more. Partners include the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA), Metra and Pace. This campaign is designed to provide drivers with easy access to information that provides alternatives to driving. A key part of the campaign is the www.drivelesslivemore.com web site that was funded under a CMAQ grant from the FHWA. The web site features a trip planner, transit system maps and schedules, travel advisories, and a commute-cost calculator. The campaign will also feature billboards, radio advertising and promotions, in addition to the web site to promote driving alternatives including public transit, vanpools, biking, and rollerblading. 12-15-2006http://www.dot.state.il.us/workzone/workzone.html Click here for a Illinois Department of Transportation work zone safety message. 8-19-2005http://www.gcmtravelstats.com Based on requests from you, the users of www.gcmtravel.com, we are pleased to announce the availability of historical travel time data for comparison to real-time conditions. We presently have several years of data available for comparison. Historical data is available through our Reports and through clicking our travel time icons on the Maps. Retrieval allows the user to initially see the real-time Travel Time data for today graphed against the collected data for the given day of the week. The X-axis (Horizontal) is a plot of the hours of the day starting at midnight. The Y-axis (Vertical) is the travel time range for the given route. By selecting More Detail (below the graph) you can plot the days of the week of your choice against today. The user can also review different routes using the pull-down and Make Chart button. We expect this new tool to assist motorists with trip planning and alternate route options relative to historical and real-time traffic conditions. Note: The graphical data for Illinois Tollway routes from approximately 12:30 am to roughly 4:00 am should be disregarded, as the systems producing this data are subject to nightly processes that interrupt and impact the data availability via www.gcmtravel.com. 6-21-2005cqt.jsp The Illinois Department of Transportation provides the 'beta' availability of a wireless-friendly version of Chicago Area Travel Times as part of the overall traveler information services from www.gcmtravel.com. This new feature is an extension of our existing Chicago Quick Traffic Report, available at ChicagoQuickTraffic.jsp, that displays travel time information of common regional interest. The wireless friendly page is www.gcmtravel.com. Using a wireless device with web enabled capability many cellular services will allow a majority of our customers to access this new page. The public can then navigate through a list of Expressways and Tollways to access a list of travel times for the chosen route. We anticipate that most users will have no trouble with the new page. We ask that those experiencing difficulty with the new wireless report to email us at GCM webmaster. Include your cellular service provider and device make and model to help us identify any issues. The page was built around the following specification. Your mobile device must support wireless markup language version 1.1 (WML 1.1) and wireless application protocol 2.0 (WAP 2.0), contact your mobile provider for more information. This feature is not intended for use while operating motor vehicles. Please drive safely and responsibly. 5-19-2005cameraReport.jsp The GCM Travel site now has added more camera snapshots and an improved camera report to help you view current traffic conditions. As on the other reports, you may view information about the cameras and the live camera images on a given roadway or on the roadways in your MyTravel "Default Locations". The camera report also includes a thumbnail of the most recent image available from the camera. You may click on the thumbnail to view a larger image together with reference views from the camera. 10-3-2005maps_chicago.jsp The www.gcmtravel.com web site now provides a more straightforward distinction for direction of travel in the reversible lanes. Two sets of color coded congestion segmentation are now displayed on the map. One representing outbound or northwest bound traffic flow and one for inbound or southeast bound traffic flow. The direction NOT exclusively colored gray is the live direction of flow. It should be noted that during transition of the reversible lane direction, both directions will appear gray as neither direction is fully open. As traffic begins to use the reversible lanes after a transition, the appropriate direction will resume with congestion colors. The diagram details the map layout of this area. From southeast to northwest the Kennedy Reversible segmentation is defined as: Inbound Mainline Inbound Reversible Outbound Reversible Outbound Mainline In the diagram, the Inbound direction is the operating direction of the Kennedy reversible lanes. The Travel Time Reports also reflect the direction of travel by listing both directions in the report. Note that the circled fields will make the direction of travel more obvious. 'N/A' values for the Travel Time and Speed, combined with a gray colored congestion indicator, identify the non-operating direction of traffic flow. 12-29-2003 The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and Illinois Department of Transportation are pleased to present travel time information and congestion information for the Tollway routes through the GCM Travel Site. The Tollway Travel Times are indicated on the map page for Chicago using circular icons filled with black. These travel times are built on Tollway travel links. The IDOT Expressway Travel Times are Downtown Chicago based and are now represented by 'teardrop' icons that point in the direction of travel. 12-29-2003