Good News, Bad News from the Tollway: Free Holiday Coffee, Big Rate Hike Jan. 1

The Illinois Tollway, McDonald's and 7-Eleven will provide customers with a free small cup of coffee on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. at each of the seven Oases, to help keep drivers safe and alert while traveling, the Tollway announced in a press release.

Motorists were also reminded that the Tollway's rate hike for cars goes into effect at midnight on Jan. 1, to fund the Tollway's new capital program.

Rates vary by road, plaza and ramp. The current average toll rate on the Illinois Tollway is 3 cents per mile (for passenger vehicles with an I-PASS). The increase will raise that to 6 cents per mile, according to the Tollway's website.

The typical rate for a passenger vehicle at a manned toll plaza is 40 cents with an I-PASS and 80 cents when paying cash. At midnight on Jan. 1, that typical rate will rise to 75 cents with an I-PASS and $1.50 for cash, according to the Tollway's website. I-PASS customers will continue to pay 50 percent less than those who pay with cash.

For a free late-night holiday cup of coffee, oases locations include:

Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90)

• Des Plaines Oasis
• Belvidere Oasis

Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80)

• Lake Forest Oasis
• O'Hare Oasis
• Hinsdale Oasis
• Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis

Reagan Memorial Tollway

• DeKalb Oasis

To accommodate increased holiday travel, the Tollway will suspend all temporary maintenance and construction lane closures from noon on Friday, Dec. 23, until 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 26, and from noon on Friday, Dec. 30, until 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 2. Some work may continue behind barriers to keep projects on schedule, but this will not impact traffic, the Tollway said.