Illinois Tollway details I‑294 Central Tri‑State progress and planned Ogden Avenue ramp closures
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Summary
Illinois Tollway engineers briefed the Hinsdale Village Board on progress in a 22‑mile reconstruction of I‑294 and outlined an August–October plan to close two ramps at the Ogden Avenue interchange, with detours coordinated with state and county agencies.
Illinois Tollway officials told the Village of Hinsdale Board of Trustees that contractors have made substantial progress on the 22‑mile Central Tri‑State I‑294 reconstruction and that the agency plans temporary ramp closures and detours at the Ogden Avenue interchange this summer. "We're throwing everything at this project to get it done," Tollway Chief Engineering Officer Menar Nashif said during a presentation to the board.
The update covered the overall corridor work, the Hinsdale‑adjacent section and specific traffic changes near Ogden Avenue. Jeff Allen, the Tollway's deputy chief in engineering, said the program is part of the Tollway's Move Illinois capital program and that the corridor project carries a roughly $4,000,000,000 price tag within a larger $15 billion, 16‑year capital plan. He said the corridor is roughly 86% complete and described ongoing median construction, noise wall installation and lane openings. "By end of the year we anticipate opening five northbound lanes between I‑55 and the westbound exit to I‑88," Allen said.
The Tollway said it will close and detour two ramps in the northwest quadrant of the Ogden interchange — the southbound 294 to westbound Ogden ramp and the westbound Ogden to southbound 294 ramp — to allow construction sequencing and profile changes in the ramp/mainline pavement. The Tollway described the planned detours in detail and said the work window is currently planned as about 90 days, "early August to late October, roughly," with exact dates to be posted two weeks in advance.
The agency said detour routing and signage have been coordinated with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Cook County and DuPage County departments of transportation. Allen also said the Tollway will update navigation services: "We do that through the Tollway itself. We work with Waze and Google Maps and things like that to update the information and the detour routes." The Tollway plans portable changeable message signs and additional static signs to discourage cut‑through traffic and will conduct outreach to businesses likely to be affected.
No formal board action was required or taken; the presentation was informational and trustees asked questions about GPS routing, timing, signage and emergency responder coordination. The Tollway provided a hotline and a dedicated Hinsdale project page on its website and said it will work with village staff on resident notifications.
Why it matters: the Ogden interchange carries heavy regional volumes and the Tollway says the temporary detours are necessary to complete a safer, higher‑capacity configuration more quickly. The detours will temporarily shift traffic onto arterials used by local drivers and businesses and the Tollway is promising additional signage and coordination with mapping services to limit local impacts.
Details and next steps: the Tollway estimates the detour period at about 90 days starting in August, will notify the public at least two weeks ahead with portable message signs and will coordinate with village staff and emergency services; specific start and end dates will be published when pinned down. The Tollway also said much of the remaining construction in the Hinsdale area (median work, center lighting, final pavement) is scheduled to be substantially complete by fall, with punchlist items continuing into 2026.
No votes or resolutions were taken by the village board during the presentation; the item was informational and trustees requested continued coordination and resident outreach.
