Illinois Tollway details planned Ogden Avenue ramp closures, detours for I‑294 reconstruction

HINSDALE, Ill. — Representatives from the Illinois Tollway on Tuesday told the Hinsdale Village Board that two ramps at the Ogden Avenue interchange on I‑294 will be closed and detoured this summer and fall as part of the agency’s 22‑mile Central Tri‑State reconstruction.

The Tollway said the closures are needed to allow sequencing between mainline and ramp pavement while crews raise and reconfigure grades in the interchange. Officials said the detours are expected to begin in August and wrap up in late October, and that the agency is aiming to keep the closures to about 90 days.

“The reason we have to implement these detours is because of the complexity of the pavement down below the sequencing of activities that have to happen,” said Jeff Allen, deputy chief of engineering for the Illinois Tollway. “By doing this, it allows for a better transition, sequencing of construction. It’ll be done in a faster time frame…and it’s safer for motorists in general.”

Menar Nashif, the Tollway’s chief engineering officer, said the overall Central Tri‑State project is part of the Move Illinois capital program and that the corridor is about 86% complete. “We’ve dedicated a lot of resources,” Nashif said. “We have the full support of our board of directors and commitment to get this project done.”

The Tollway said the two ramps to be closed are in the north‑west quadrant of the Ogden interchange: the southbound I‑294 to westbound Ogden ramp, and the westbound Ogden to southbound I‑294 ramp. The planned detour for the southbound I‑294 to westbound Ogden ramp sends traffic to eastbound Ogden, north on Wolf Road, west on 301st Street and back to southbound Illinois 83; the westbound Ogden to southbound I‑294 detour sends drivers west on Ogden, south on 83, then via I‑55 north to connect to southbound I‑294.

Tollway staff said the detour routing was coordinated with the Illinois Department of Transportation and the county departments that manage Wolf Road and the 301st Street segment, and that they selected the routes to minimize impacts. The agency said it will add extra detour signage, portable changeable message signs and work with local police and emergency responders to discourage local‑street cut‑throughs.

“We’re working with Waze and Google Maps and things like that to update the information and the detour routes,” Jeff Allen said when asked whether the detours would be reflected in navigation apps.

Tollway staff also said the Ogden interchange work has included noise wall construction adjacent to Adventist School and pedestrian bridge and landscaping improvements near local parks. Officials said they expect to open a fifth lane in the northbound direction between I‑55 and the westbound exit to I‑88 by year’s end and to open a fifth southbound lane south of Ogden later this year.

The Tollway asked village staff and the board to share its hotline and frequent project updates with residents; officials said they will post at least two weeks’ notice using portable message signs before closures begin.

No board vote or formal action was taken during the update.

The Tollway presentation and the detour routing were presented to the board during the July 15 regular meeting.