Ronald Reagan Tollway – I-88 – Urban Biotic Assessment Program (UBAP)

At a Glance:

96 mile segment of road
240,000 vehicles/day
26 listed species
3 federally protected:
> Northern Long-eared Bat
> Mead’s Milkweed
> Rusty Patched Bumblebee

The Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) connects the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) to Illinois Tollway’s western terminus at Dixon, Illinois, and carries over 240,000 vehicles per day. Proposed construction work included maintenance and repairs of roadways, bridges, and ramps. Additionally, roadway work included replacing a bridge over an abandoned railroad right-of-way, now part of the Illinois Prairie Path.

We began full corridor surveys of I-88 in 2022 and established long term monitoring sites at Bliss Woods and McDowell Grove.

Along I-88 there are:

- - - 40 county-level Forest Preserves (Lee Co – 1, Kane Co – 23, and DuPage Co – 16)
    - 104 municipal parks
    - 103.33 ha of public lands in the RPBB High Potential Zone
    - 104.91 ha of public lands in the RPBB Low Potential Zone
    - 28.93 ha of public lands with at least 51% canopy cover
    - 81 stream crossings
    - 1,421 ha of 681 wetlands

Within 1 mile there are:

- - - 2 Illinois Nature Preserve Commission sites (INPCs)
      Almon Underwood Prairie Nature Preserve and Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve
    - 10 Illinois Natural Areas Inventory sites
      Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Ashton East Geological Area, Lyman Woods, Morton Arboretum, Bliss Woods Marsh, Carson Marsh, Lakin Hill Prairie, Fullersburg Woods Nature Center, Belmont Prairie, and Arlene Shoemaker Flatwoods

Publications:

Mui, Jennifer M., Janet L. Jarvis, Anastasia A. Rahlin, and Michael J. Dreslik. 2023. “Initial Assessment of Biotic Resources along the I-94 and I-88 Corridors.” Illinois Natural History Survey Technical. 2023(2):1–42.

Niemiller, M.L., T.C.Hohoff, and M.J. Dreslik. 2017. Habitat assessment for Northern Long-eared Bats (Myotis septentrionalis) and Indiana Bats (Myotis sodalis) at I-88 in Lee County, Illinois. ME–17–01:1-20.

Sivicek, V.A., S.A. Johnson, J.L. Jarvis, and M.J. Dreslik. 2019. Noxious and selected invasive plant populations along Illinois toll highway rights-of-way. Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Reports 2019 (28):1–87.

Mui, Jennifer M., Michael J. Dreslik, and Charles A. Warwick. 2021. Illinois Natural History Survey Urban Biotic Assessment Program 2015-2020. INHS Technical Report 2021 (02).

View other projects

Visit the Illinois Tollway Website for more information on the construction projects.