Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
A new response agreement between four towns for handling accidents on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) through Schaumburg is overcoming the obstacle to emergency vehicles created by a concrete barrier built as part of the recent improvements, Schaumburg Fire Chief David Schumann said.
That barrier — dubbed the “chute” by local firefighters — divides the local and express lanes of westbound I-90 for about a mile or so from Route 53 to just west of Meacham Road. Because there are no gaps in that or any other wall along the tollway for emergency vehicles to change lanes or direction, the nearest entrance ramp to access all lanes is at Arlington Heights Road to the east.
And under the new agreement, Arlington Heights firefighters will simultaneously respond to accidents in that area. The agreement also has Rolling Meadows firefighters covering the ramp from southbound Route 53 to westbound I-90, and for Hoffman Estates to respond on eastbound I-90 from Barrington Road to Roselle Road.
All three departments feel the multi-department agreement on how best to get emergency equipment to accident scenes returns the biggest issue on the tollway to motorists reporting accidents while unsure of exactly where they are.
That’s part of the reason why Schaumburg and Arlington Heights personnel will be simultaneously dispatched to accidents in and around the chute.
