Illinois Tollway projects and initiatives are playing in Peoria!

About 300 transportation engineers came down to the River City for the annual fall conference hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois to hear updates on the latest transportation topics.

Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse and Deputy Chief of Program Implementation Sarah Kukadia detailed construction of the new Tri-State Tollway (I-294)/I-57 Interchange and its subsequent economic impact in the Chicago Southland.

The Illinois Tollway recognizes the value of investing for the future, whether it’s building new roads or bridges to improve mobility or adopting new technologies to better manage traffic.

Such investments were highlighted at the 71st Annual Illinois Traffic and Engineering Safety Conference hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

The Illinois Tollway may need a bigger trophy case just for TIMS2GO.

The TIMS2GO mobile incident response tool was recognized by Government Technology magazine as one of its 10 top award winners in the operations category for its National Innovation Showcase. The operations category focuses on public agencies that use innovative technologies to improve internal operations.

The reconstruction of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Bridge faced numerous challenges.

It’s one of the busiest railway bridges in the region. It crosses one of the busiest sections of interstate highway in Northern Illinois. And its surrounded on three sides by public parks and, on the fourth side, a public works facility.

To overcome those challenges and deliver the reconstruction on time and within budget took careful planning, close coordination with numerous affected entities and innovative thinking by an extraordinary team of engineers and contractors.

An 83-foot-long portable steel safety barrier used by the Illinois Tollway to shield roadway and emergency workers from fast-moving traffic is catching the eye of drivers—and of transportation officials in other states.

The sheer size and visibility of the bright yellow barrier, which includes a rear electronic message board to alert drivers to road repairs or traffic incidents, encourages drivers to slow down and steer clear of it as they approach, Tollway officials said.

Transportation officials from a variety of agencies also are taking notice, scheduling visits to inspect the two mobile work zone barriers the Tollway has in its inventory to see how the Innovative safety equipment works.

The *999 motorist assistance program plays an important role in keeping Illinois motorists safe and traffic moving efficiently.

As of October 1, the responsibility for fielding *999 calls is with The Chicago Lighthouse, a social service organization that assists those who are visually impaired, disabled or military veterans.

“The Illinois Tollway and Chicago Lighthouse have a longstanding partnership and I’m pleased that’s going to continue as the state’s *999 service provider,” said Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “This is a tremendous service to our customers, and we’re excited to have them on board.”