The extended Fourth of July weekend is expected to be one of the busiest periods of the year on Illinois' tollway with nearly 8 million vehicles on the system.

The Illinois Tollway says in a Wednesday statement that the heaviest travel day should be Friday. Around 2 million vehicles are expected on the road then. That compares to an average day when around 1.6 million vehicles use the tollway.

The Illinois Tollway operates nearly 300 miles of roadways in 12 counties in northern Illinois. The agency also reminds drivers it's illegal to use hand-held devices when driving in Illinois.

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