Record Traffic Expected In Illinois Over Labor Day Weekend

Jim Anderson -- Illinois Radio Network

The Illinois Tollway projects record traffic volume on its system over the Labor Day holiday weekend.

The projection, announced Tuesday, is 7.2 million vehicles over the holiday period, Thursday through Sept. 2, which would eclipse the record of 7.1 million vehicles on Labor Day weekend in 2011.

Tollway Director Kristi Lafleur says this will be the culmination of a busy summer. “Throughout the summer we’ve had some record-breaking Fridays, for instance, and record-breaking weeks on the Tollway system, so that’s what leads us to project that we’ll have a high volume of Labor Day travel,” she said.

The busiest day will be Friday, when a projected 1.8 million vehicles will use the Tollway. An average day sees 1.4 million vehicles on the Tollway. Lafleur says the factors that will cause Tollway volume to be high probably also will cause volume to be up on other highways around the state.

Construction work will be stopped, but there is still a big construction zone on I-90 from Rockford to Chicago, and the work zone speed limit will remain in effect.