Scale is approximately 1 km per UTM grid square. I-94 (the 'Borman' expressway) runs from southwest to northeast, I-90 from northwest to southeast as the Indiana Toll Road, and I-80 comes in from the southwest and goes out to the southeast. US 6 also comes in from the west via I-80/94 and heads south towards the lower left corner. US 20 is the surface road just north of the Toll Road and IN 51 connects US 6 to it (continuing to the south combined with US 6). US 12 passes east-west just north of this map.
Nearly ALL of the highway traffic into and out of the Chicagoland area from the east passes through this overcrossing. The Indiana Toll Road is the major highway connection between the upper midwest and the northeastern USA while I-94 (The Borman) connects the midwest to all of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. I-80 crosses over through this interchange, carrying its additional share of through traffic. In all, it is HEAVY on large trucks and in fact I-80/94 to the west into Illinois carries some of the heaviest large truck traffic in the entire USA.
The Indiana Toll Road was built in the early 1950s as one of the first of the major cross-country 'ticket' tollways/turnpikes. Combined with the Chicago Skyway, Ohio Turnpike, Pennsylvania Turnpike and New Jersey Turnpike, it forms a complete direct route from Chicago to the New York City metro area. Later on, in the early 1970s, I-94 was completed into Michigan. This curious interchange, complete with the very tight 3-level 'Y', is the result).
Until the early to mid 1980s, The Indiana Toll Road used the 'ticket' system to collect tolls all the way to the Illinois state line in Hammond. There was a 'get ticket/pay toll' tollgate between the 'Burns Ditch' and the Toll Road mainline. When the ticket system was cut back, this gate was eliminated and cash tollgates were added to the ramps pointing towards Chicago. The 'ticket' section starts at this interchange going eastward with the tollgate about 3-4 km to the east. Passing eastbound through this tollgate conveys a true change in the 'character' of the highway, it tells me that I am no longer in the gritty urbanity of Chicagoland and have entered the adventurous 'hinterlands' to the east, much of like Frodo leaving the Shire on his journey in the 'Lord of the Rings'.
*The first of several full service plazas on the Chicago-New York cross-country tollway is just east of the overcrossing.
*When the I-routes were first allocated, I-90 and I-94 were switched between here and Chigaco's south side.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
Just follow this sign to make your OWN great signs!!!! |
|
|
This page © Michael G. Koerner |
 |
|---|
