Tollway cams give drivers view of traffic conditions
News-Sun staff report January 8, 2013 6:20PM
Illinois Tollway camera shows traffic on I-88 in Aurora on Tuesday morning on January 8. 2013. | Photo from Tollway website
Updated: February 10, 2013 5:59PM
Lake County commuters now have a chance to see how bad traffic is on the tollway before they even leave home.
The Illinois Tollway on Tuesday announced expanded public access to traffic images by adding feeds from 15 traffic camera locations to its Website, www.illinoistollway.com.
Drivers can now access camera feeds that offer “bird’s eye” views from three cameras along the eight cameras along the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294), Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90), two cameras along the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) and two cameras along the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88).
“Customers are now able to go online anytime and see for themselves what the travel conditions are like on their way to their destinations,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. “Our goal in posting these images online is to give our customers another valuable source of information to help them manage their travel decisions.”
The camera feeds are accessible by selecting the “View Traffic Cameras” link on the tollway’s homepage. This link directs customers to the Illinois Tollway Virtual Map, a clickable map that allows customers to zoom in on a section of the tollway system and select a camera icon to get a view from that location.
Most cameras offer customers multiple roadway views. Customers can click on the “Traffic Cameras” tab located in the left navigation bar to identify camera locations.
Camera images are uploaded approximately every five minutes, and viewers must refresh the page to view updates. Image quality is dependent on weather conditions, tollway officials said.
