Chicago suburbs to get a faster ride to O'Hare Airport with new tollway

Chicago City Council recently approved a deal with the Illinois Tollway to make a "back door to O'Hare"

Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(CHICAGO) On Wednesday, the Chicago City Council voted unanimously to transfer 202 acres of land for nearly $108 million. The land will be used to build a tollway along the west edge of the O'Hare Airport, hopefully making travel much faster to and from the airport to the suburbs.

The new tollway (I-490) will connect with the I-294 Tri-State Tollway to the south and the I-90 Jane Addams Tollway to the north. This will create a feeder for I-390 and open up access to the airport from the western suburbs.

In a press release from Mayor Lightfoot's office on March 23, Lightfoot stated,

"The benefits of this agreement with the Tollway are spectacular for our residents: more jobs, more contracts, more minority participation, better airport access and more funds to further develop O’Hare, an economic engine for our city that directly employs tens of thousands of Chicagoans." She continued, “I thank Department of Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee and her staff for their tireless work to maximize this opportunity for Chicago's job creators—particularly minority-owned businesses.”

Elgin O'Hare Western Access Project

The O'Hare tollway is part of the Elgin O'Hare Western Access Project which includes 17 miles of new roads and 15 new or improved interchanges by 2025.

According to the Illinois Tollway, the project will create up to 65,000 jobs by 2040, provide new access to O'Hare, decrease traffic by 16% during rush hour, and reduce delays on local roads by 24%.

Further, the tollway project is expected to reduce travel time by over seven minutes from the west side of O'Hare to Lake Street.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, posted on Twitter back in April of last year, "It [the Elgin-O’Hare Western Access Project] will provide 17 miles of new roads & extend the Elgin O’Hare Expressway to reach a new western terminal at O'Hare, not to mention the economic benefits."

A "back door to O'Hare"

According to Block Club Chicago, Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee told city council aviation committee members earlier this week, "It is going to provide many, many benefits. Aside from the contracting opportunities and employment opportunities, it will also create a back door to O’Hare.”

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