Avoiding tolls I-80 Chicago
 

Gotta leave for Bolingbrook, IL in a few hours. Coming from Indy I usually take 65N to I-80W but have to pay some tolls. I was thinking of taking US30W from Merrillville, IN to IL53N up to I-55.

Are US30 and IL53 decent roads? Thanks.

Take US 30 through there and you may learn what the nickname Stoplight City came from. :wink:

I've never taken that route of yours so I couldn't tell you about any low bridges or restrictions. I did run it on my map program and yours is 3 miles shorter than taking I-80 to I-355. I just took that exact route up from Indy to our drop yard in Bolingbrook. I think the tolls came to $11.00 for that, $3 on 80 and $8 on 355. You'd probably spend a lot of extra time taking 30 to 53. I know people don't like paying tolls but fuel is so expensive that it doesnt take that many OOR miles avoiding tolls to cost more in extra fuel than if you just take the toll road. If someone avoided a toll that costs $10 by taking a route that was 15 miles longer they actually lost money avoiding the toll road, and probably lost time too. It is different though if you're a company driver and they refuse to pay tolls, then avoid the toll roads. 8) 8)

Thats no joke.

Take I 74 west to IL rte 47 N to I 55 north. You will pick up Rt 47 one or two exits west of the I 57 interchange at Champaign.

The exit number for IL rte 47 is 172 off of I 74.

Inquiring minds want to know why they call it "spotlight city"?

Because with the exception of a few small stretches of road there is a stop light every 1/4 to 1/2 mile (or less) from I 65 west to I 57.

Actually the stop light hell continues east and west of those interchanges for quite some ways too.

Dang it, it's STOPlight city not spotlight city! :lol: :oops:

Colts fan, before you ask I live just south of Champaign and have taken the route I gave you many times in a big truck. It is the easiest and quickest way to get to anything on the west side of the Windy. No tolls and Rte 47 is a good running 2 lane road.

Just watch yourself going through the towns. The local cops love to pull over speeders, but other than that there are no issues.

If you need a break before you head up I 55 there is a small fuel stop right at the junction I I 55 and Rte 47 where you can grab a drink, snacks, use the restroom.

Let's see.... Indy to Bolingbrook...

I-74 to IN-63 north. At IN-10, turn west toward Kankakee, IL. At the state line, it becomes IL-17. Follow that through to the west side of Kankakee, and turn right onto US-45. After a dozen blocks or so, turn left onto IL-102 to Wilmington, IL. When you get to downtown Wilmington, you do not want to cross rte-53. You want to turn right and go to rte-44, left. A couple of miles, and it will take you to I-55. Not "STOPLIGHT CITY, and NO TOLLS. Been that way many times.

Thanks guys. I'll take one of the routes you have recommended. Once I make it back alive and well I'll let you know which route I took!

Thanks again.

What Windwalker said.

Amazing :roll: Why anyone would want to go through all that to save $3.00 is beyond me.

There is only one toll when you exit 294 N on to 80 W, then it is clear sailing to 55, except for the scale on I55 S of 53.

Then again, I always stay on 294 and take it to 55 as it is shorter and quicker, but having IPASS makes it a lot easier.

First of all, WHERE ON THE IL TOLL SYSTEM DO YOU FIND A $3.00 TOLL?????

The last time I went across I-80, the one toll was over $4.00 at night. I understand that during "peak hours", the toll is over $5.00. (This toll WAS $0.90 before.) Now, think about OH back in '98 when they raised their toll by a WHOPPING 93%. Most companies pulled their trucks OFF THE TOLL ROAD. I had to put on more miles and put up with towns and speed zones or pay the toll myself. OH finally got the message, and look at the toll road today.

IL operated the toll road for years, and maintained it. But they failed to authorize anyone to spend the money they collected, so there was a bank account with BILLIONS OF DOLLARS just sitting there. When they made the changes needed to be authorized to spend the money they collected, they also raised the tolls by 400% and 500%, and more.. And, we're supposed to accept that? KISS MY GRITS :!:

IN has "leased" their toll road to a group in Spain and Austria because they have a project they want to fund costing nearly 200 million. The term of the lease is 20 years. But, what will they do if they come up with another project in 10 years that will cost more than they have? Invent another toll road? I-80 is already spoken for.

PA has come up short financially. Their answer to the money crunch? MAKE I-80 A TOLL ROAD... The first year, it will cost a truck $125 to go the length of I-80 in PA. The second year, it will be $250. That gets tacked on to the "COST OF DELIVERY" to other areas like NYC, and North Jersey, and even CT and MA. PA plans to cover they own MIS-MANAGEMENT on the backs of people that have NO REPRESENTATION IN THEIR STATE. People in NY, NJ, CT, and MA will be paying the extra, and that's not even beginning to look at the companies in the mid-west that will be paying more for materials imported through the NYC Ports. Suddenly, other ports like Baltimore, Norfolk, Savannah, Mobile, and even the ports in FL become more competitive, and more attractive. The northeast stands to lose business, and have their economy adversely affected. But PA doesn't care about that. They have to cover their own financial butt. They have already gone through the first steps to put tolls on I-80.

Virtually every state that has a financial problem is looking at putting tolls in. Even WY is considering putting tolls on I-80. So, been a bit short-sighted with your finances, PUT IN A TOLL ROAD.

WRONG :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

We have to be RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS. If we rob a bank because we come up short on cash, we go to jail. But, if they come up short, they simply arrange to TAKE FROM US. It's a matter of principle. If they mis-manage their finances, THEY must fix it. Not let the deficit ride on the back of the rest of the country.

IF TOLL ROADS ARE NOT PROFITABLE, THEY WILL REALIZE THAT TOLL ROADS ARE NOT A "FIX-ALL".
I do not have representation in any of their states. What gives them the right to "tax" me :?: :?: :?:

Just recently, OH was holding hearings in Toledo about raising the tolls on the turnpike by about 3%. The companies, nearly all of them, told OH that if they raised the tolls, they (the companies) would pull their trucks back off the toll road. BUT THESE SAME COMPANIES WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE CHICAGO AND PAY 500% MORE IN TOLLS?????

Not me. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If the trucking industry will not let OH raise their tolls, than the same goes for IL.

The toll on I-80 is $3.00. I'm with you on these toll roads Windwalker. My company pays the tolls by way of reimbursement but it still makes me sick. Like that toll on I-80. How convenient that they made a few miles of I-80 part of I-294 so they can charge everyone that's just passing through a toll, not to mention jam traffic all up because we have to stop at the toll plaza. That's real bs there. Then there's our deal up here in New York. The tolls on the Thruway were supposed to have ended in the mid-nineties I believe but that never happened. Not only never happened but they continue to raise the tolls. 10% several months ago, another 5% soon and another 5% down the road. The Thruway Authority did this even with total opposition from the state government. Another thing is they still charge by height and length. What the hell does that have to do with anything. They charge more if you pulling a 53' than a 48'. It's the same weight and number of axles but for some reason they need to charge differently. Then there's another thing, because a couple towns hate these trucks that are going through their town that have garbage in the trailers headed to the landfill they have managed to get the state to propose not allowing ANY trucks off the interstate system unless it's for picking up and delivering, basically forcing them on to the toll road until they get to the closest point to their destination, adding many miles to the trip. There's no end in sight :?

I have a question for you windwalker. Are you against a new road being constructed if it will need to be a toll road? I am with you on the "governments want to waste money faster so they toll existing roads" thing but what about a new highway?

Here, look for yourself

http://www.illinoistollway.com/porta..._schema=PORTAL

Most fly by night O/O's pulled their trucks off, but the profitable companies got IPASS and kept using it. The company I drove for at the time raised their rates to cover the increase and kept the trucks moving.

Even today there are plenty of trucks on the Tollway system. Just because you couldn't negotiate a rate increase doesn't mean nobody else could. Time is money, if you want to spend hours in traffic to save a few bucks I have one thing to say, sucks to be you.:P

B.S. They did spend money on it, and hadn't raised the rates for years. It got to the point they needed to do a complete rehab and wanted to implement open road tolling, so they raised the rates. That open road tolling is the best thing they ever did, if you have IPASS, you never slow down.



If you notice, the part where 294 and 80 run together is newly rebuilt, for that matter, it all new from there east to the IN border. You can thank the IL toll system for that, as if we waited for the IL Dot to fix it it would be in the shape most of 80 wet from there is.

As far as stopping to pay the toll, who does that any more? Get an IPASS and you breeze right through. I look at all the OTR trucks sitting in line digging for money every time I go through an IPASS lane wondering why they waste their time, especially when they get paid by the mile. Ironic, isn't it? We get paid by the hour, so the boss wants us to not sit, as it costs him money, yet your company doesn't care how long you sit because it doesn't cost them a dime in extra labor. :lol:

I gotta admit...since they finished 294/80...and implemented the "high speed fly by" I-Pass lanes, it is a rare occassion to have any traffic in that area anymore. The road almost moves to fast. Just thinking back when the construction on that stretch was in progress, WOW was that a pain in the you know what. Now if they will just get the rest of it finished...only a few small stretches of 294 arent under construction, and what is it around 'Half Day" on I-94 to the Wisconsin line is under construction. Hopefully it will be completed in short order.

The part of 80 in IN where it meets the 65 is, WOW...

I hate getting thru there now.

Ok. I'll admit yhat on the way up there I was a total coward and did not follow any of the suggested routes.

I took I-65N to 80W and went all the way over to 55N to avoid the tolls on 355N. I paid $3.00 going across 80 to 55.

On the way back however, I took a significantly different route.

I went from 55S to IL113East which immediately turns to 113S. I took that to Kankakee, IL where it rus into IL17 East. It was pretty slow going through all of the small towns with the slow speeds, stoplights and whatnot. After crossing into Indiana IL17 turned into SR2. I had to make a left turn onto 41N and a right turn into the town of Lowell and I finally made it to I-65 at Hebron, IN (Exit 230).

After it was all said and done I still made it back in pretty good time. I clocked inat 4:35am and clocked out at 2:23pm

And why does a new road "need to be a toll road"?

And, the cost is passed on to the customers, who pass it on, until it reaches the end consumer, who is effectively TAXED without any form of representation. Remember the "BOSTON TEA PARTY"?

I certainly don't pay tolls anymore. I don't go there anymore. If they want me there bad enough, THEY WILL PAY MY TOLL FOR ME. Until then, they do not want my services bad enough. And, although I remember paying over $4 back when they first started it, even if it is $3 now, that's still in excess of 300% increase in the toll above the $0.90 that it used to be. OH got into trouble with the companies over 93%. I guess you could say I ran that toll "TWICE" since they raised it. THE FIRST TIME, AND THE LAST TIME. Why should I get an I-pass? It's a waste if I'm not going to be going that way anymore.

I had heard there was some pretty heavy construction going on in that area, and all the way to the loop. I have no idea what it looks like. I don't go there anymore. Draw a line down from Rockford (or Beloit) and circle it around to the IN line above Kankakee. That northeast corner of IL is no longer on my map. I do not go there. No. I no longer run ANY toll roads, no matter where they are.

Late in Jan, the year they raised the tolls, I was offered a load to the Chicago area. It wasn't a bad paying load. An emergency generator for a medical facility. A RUSH order because their existing one died. But, it also meant running a toll road. I turned it down. Then, I had a chance to turn it down again in mid Feb. I was at the shipper again in early May, and they tried to put that same unit on my trailer. Again, the answer was no. In July, I talked to another driver that said he had just delivered it for more than $9/mile, and they said they were very happy to get it because there were some kind of procedures they could not do without a back-up power source. He had turned it down 4 times before that for the same reason I did.

Yes. I am against toll roads. They want their supplies brought in, they want their goods shipped out, and they want their economy, but they want someone else to pick up the cost of access. That's a form of "HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO". When they allow us to have that, then, and only then, can they have it too.

In this case, the IL toll roads were built and maintained by the Toll Authority, no Federal or state money is or was used in building or maintaining any of them. The Toll authority even pays for the State Police that patrol those roads, including the patrol cars they drive. What I am getting at is, the toll roads are a separate entity, they make their operating revenue from tolls, with no help from anyone else. Like any business, a handful of disgruntled customers really doesn't hurt the bottom line.

So how would that be different than IL doing away with the Tolls and raising the fuel tax by .10 per gallon to make up for the lost revenue?

BTW, we are doing just fine without your services, as a matter of fact, never really noticed any decline of goods on the shelves since the tolls increased and all the big boycott of the IL toll system called for by OOIDA and The Bozo at the time. :lol:

I find it laughable that their are drivers who get paid by the mile who would rather waste time sitting in traffic or going way out of route to save a few dollars on tolls, because of some B.S. they hear at the lunch counter or on the CB.

Enjoy to your heart's content. I'm not telling anyone else what to do or not to do. I'm simply saying I will not run a toll road anymore. The original question was "How do you get around the toll road. I answered it. But, on his way back to Indy, he should have turned right in Momence onto 114 and followed that to 41. He would have saved a lot more miles, and there is a small truck stop at the intersection with 41, along with a small restaurant. Follow 41down to 63 which comes out at exit 4 of I-74 and he's home free.

I also have not seen an answer as to just why a new road must be a toll road.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority just built the I355 extension, from I55 to I80 as a tollway. That was the only way to get it built, as the State of Illinois didn't have the funding. If the ISTHA didn't step up to the plate, the road never would have been built. They borrowed the money needed, and it is being repaid by the money generated by tolls.

The other alternative would have been the State building it, and raising fuel/gas taxes to pay back the bonds. As far as I am concerned, roads paid for by user fees (tolls) is by far the best way to go, if I use it, I pay for it, instead of paying for a road I don't use every time I buy fuel or gas. That is why the IL Toll system is a good one. Do you honestly think the people outside of the Chicago metro area would like to pay at the pump for roads they probably have or never will use? They already get the shaft having to pay fuel tax for the mass transit up here.

User paid roads are going to be a thing of the future, get used to it.

And, the fees are added onto the "COST OF DELIVERY" so that some little old lady on a fixed income in Fargo, ND, that only drives to church and the grocery store once a week can pay an installment on your toll road every time she stocks her pantry. Never saw your toll road, much less has any use for it, but you're going to let her help pay for it. She's not a user. She has no representation in IL, but she gets to put out for it, along with thousands of other people around the country that don't even know it exists. And YOU think that fair and just? You're going to let... No.. you're going to CHARGE they because you want something done in YOUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD? Folks in Denver have their own roads tp pay for, why should they have to help you pay for yours.? Just because you don't want to pay more for gas tax like every body else does? What makes you so special?

So, the states all charge more gas tax to fix and build new roads, then eventually, when all the trucking companies raise their rates pass it along, it has the same affect. I am sure there are hidden taxes we all pay for things we never see. I pay taxes for deadbeats that sit on welfare, granny pays for roads, we all pay taxes for rest arears so you all can have a place to take a break, I pay federal tax for roads I will never drive on. What exactly is your point again?

So, let's levy a "TOLL TAX" on all the good folks in Dallas, Ft Worth, and Houston to pay for the roads in IL. Oh, yeah, let's include Salt Lake City in on that. Think they'll go for it? Toll is only a "BACK-HANDED" way of doing exactly the same thing, not only to them, but to virtually everyone else in the country. Which makes it a LIE. What makes IL and the Chicago area so special? WI is working on making hwy 29, across the state from Green Bay to Eau Claire an interstate hwy. Suppose they charge that cost to the people of Chicago? After all, there are a whole lot of IL tags on the cars, pickups, vans, and motorhomes that use the road every year. A majority of the vehicles involved in accidents on that toad are wearing IL tags. Suppose they charge that to the people in IL. Would they pay it with a smile?- And, let's not leave you out. You get to pay your share too.

And my point is, if WI decides to raise the fuel tax to cover the 29 project, and carriers raise their rates accordingly, I will pay for it in raised prices on anything that comes through WI on its way here. What you are missing is, that raise in rates, in either scenario, would be spread over the entire load. If it is divided into say 5000 individual widgets that are on a particular load, the amount is minimal.