It is finally here, Aurora! The new, all electronic interchange at Eola Rd and I88 will open tonight, November 20th, 2009 and get this – it is reported to have come in on time and $14 million under budget! The following is excerpted from the Illinois Tollway press release issued earlier today:

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Illinois Tollway, DuPage County and City of Aurora officials celebrated the completion of a new, full-access Interchange featuring all-electronic tolling at Eola Road and the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) to help reduce congestion on the local road network in Aurora and Naperville. DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, and Naperville Mayor George Pradel commended the Illinois Tollway for bringing the project in on schedule and under budget by $14 million. The new interchange is scheduled to open overnight tonight, November 20, and is part of the Illinois Tollway’s $6.3 billion Congestion-Relief Program.

The new interchange includes four ramps providing access for Eola Road traffic to and from the Tollway via Bilter Road on the north side of I-88 and Diehl Road on the south side of I-88, and will serve daily commuters from Aurora and Naperville as well as commercial truck traffic….

The interchange layout provides on and off access and exits in both directions and accepts IPass/electronic toll collection only! If you need to use cash, use the ramps at Farnsworth Ave, just west of Eola Road. Of interest to locals is the question ‘How will Eola Rd hold up and what will traffic be like now?’ With the addition of this ramp (greatly needed, in my humble opinion) and the opening of Metea Valley High School earlier this fall, we can expect to see a sharp increase in the number of vehicles on Eola.