Interstate 490 (I-490), also known as O'Hare West Bypass and Western O'Hare Beltway, is a proposed electronic toll highway and a beltway near

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, that would run along the west side of

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

. The tollway would connect

I-294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to N ...

(Tri-State Tollway) to a western access point to the airport. From there, it would continue northward to an extension of

Illinois Route 390 Illinois Route 390 (IL 390), previously known as the Elgin–O'Hare Expressway, now known as the Elgin–O'Hare Tollway, is a electronic toll highway in northeastern Illinois. IL 390 currently connects U.S. Route 20 (US&nb ...

(IL 390, formerly known as the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway) and

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

(Jane Addams Memorial Tollway). The O'Hare Western Bypass is part of the Elgin–O'Hare Western Access (EOWA) project. Building the highway would affect the villages of

Elk Grove Village Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpora ...

, Wood Dale, Itasca, and Bensenville. The proposed route runs through the

American Airlines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight in the United States operated by American Airlines from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon of May 25, ...

crash site, the deadliest aviation accident in US history.

Route description

I-490 will begin at a partial interchange with

(Tri-State Tollway) in Franklin Park, south of

. There will be an interchange with Franklin Avenue/Green Street. The tollway will head north before curving westward to briefly parallel the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

before crossing it. Immediately afterward, the tollway will have an interchange with IL 19 (Irving Park Road). On the western side of O'Hare International Airport, I-490 will have an interchange with IL 390 (Elgin–O'Hare Tollway) at the entrance to a planned western terminal. Continuing north, I-490 will cross over the Canadian Pacific Railway and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Milwaukee Subdivision and have an interchange with IL 72 (Touhy Avenue) before ending at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with

(Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) in

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

History

In December 2009, the

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

(IDOT) finalized the routing of the western bypass. Intermediate interchanges are planned at County Line Road/Franklin Avenue, IL 19, IL 390, and IL 72. On August 25, 2011, the

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Illinois charged with building, operating, and maintaining toll roads in the state. The roads, as well as the authority itself, are sometimes referr ...

(ISHTA) approved a $12-billion (equivalent to $ in ) capital plan called Move Illinois, which seeks to improve toll roads under their jurisdiction; the authority doubled toll rates to help fund it. The bypass is also part of the EOWA project. On October 6, 2014, IDOT submitted an application to the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...

(AASHTO) for the creation of the new I-490 designation. AASHTO approved the I-490 designation on November 20, 2014, contingent on

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

(FHWA) approval. In November 2015, the Canadian Pacific Railway (doing business in the US as the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

) sought a federal injunction to block ISHTA from acquiring land in the Bensenville Rail Yard to build the tollway, over fears that this would impact rail traffic. In 2016, ISHTA sued the Canadian Pacific Railway (which does business in the US as the Soo Line Railroad) to request that the United States Surface Transportation Board allow for the construction of the tollway. On June 13, 2018, ISHTA and the Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to settle the dispute. Construction on the interchange with I-90 began on September 12, 2018; the interchange is scheduled to be finished in 2023. The project is planned to be finished in 2026. In preparation for the interchange at Interstate 90, and the widening of I-90, the Des Plaines over-highway oasis structure was permanently closed on March 16, 2014. The over-highway oasis structure began to be deconstructed immediately, but the gas stations and gas station stores remained open. These businesses were eventually closed on December 14, 2018. The oasis, which opened on June 24, 1959, was the second oldest of the five original tollway oases in Illinois. The gas station buildings were finally demolished in April 2019, and the new bridge decks over I-90, placed almost exactly where the oasis was previously located, were installed in June 2019.

Exit list

References

External links

* {{3di, 90 Expressways in the Chicago area 4 (Illinois) Toll roads in Illinois 90-4 (Illinois) 90-4 Transportation in Cook County, Illinois Transportation in DuPage County, Illinois Franklin Park, Illinois Bensenville, Illinois Elk Grove Village, Illinois Des Plaines, Illinois

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links