The main problem with the Hillside Strangler is.......

[I-39]

The Eisenhower extension. Building I-290 between I-88/294 and the northern terminus of I-355 was a terrible idea. It created the Hillside Strangler.

Hindsight is 20/20, but a better idea would have been to build what is now the Elgin O'Hare West Access from the beginning, and use that as a connector for people wanting to get to what is now I-290/IL-53 from I-294.

[Brandon]

The biggest problem is that you have five lanes merging down to three.  Three of the lanes are from the Extension, two of the lanes are from the East-West Tollway, and then there's additional traffic from Roosevelt Road and the Tri-State Tollway.  Altogether, it's quite the clusterfuck.

[johndoe780]

Weren't they doing a study on expanding Eisenhower to 8 lanes (and maybe express lanes) along with the blue line extension to Mannheim?

Maybe it'll actually get done in 20-30 years...

[Revive 755]

The Eisenhower extension. Building I-290 between I-88/294 and the northern terminus of I-355 was a terrible idea. It created the Hillside Strangler.

Sure.  And the ramp from SB I-294 to the EB Eisenhower would need to be how many lanes to avoid becoming a bottleneck itself?

Hindsight is 20/20, but a better idea would have been to build what is now the Elgin O'Hare West Access from the beginning, and use that as a connector for people wanting to get to what is now I-290/IL-53 from I-294.

And the bottleneck on the Eisenhower east of I-294 would still remain, and/or the bottleneck on the Kennedy between I-190 and I-94 would be even worse than the misery it is today.

The 1939 and 1946 Expressway plans for Chicagoland and the 1962 and 1971 Transportation plans included a North Avenue facility that was never built, which might have done more for the Hillside Strangler than not building the Eisenhower Extension.

[Joe The Dragon]

Weren't they doing a study on expanding Eisenhower to 8 lanes (and maybe express lanes) along with the blue line extension to Mannheim?

Maybe it'll actually get done in 20-30 years...

It's good till about Mannheim from I-294. By 2025 I-294 should have better interchanges and maybe 5 lanes each way

Eisenhower needs at least 4 each way + AUX from Mannheim to I-94/I-90

[johndoe780]

Weren't they doing a study on expanding Eisenhower to 8 lanes (and maybe express lanes) along with the blue line extension to Mannheim?

Maybe it'll actually get done in 20-30 years...

It's good till about Mannheim from I-294. By 2025 I-294 should have better interchanges and maybe 5 lanes each way

Eisenhower needs at least 4 each way + AUX from Mannheim to I-94/I-90

Agreed.

You're forgetting by 2025, EOE will also dump more cars on 290/294 as well. I say 290 needs to be at least 8 lanes in each direction plus 2 reversible express lanes like on the Kennedy. I see no reason why there shouldn't be express lanes from Mannheim all the way to say Damen ave.

[froggie]

at least 8 lanes in each direction

Good luck finding the right-of-way and funding for that...

[Henry]

Weren't they doing a study on expanding Eisenhower to 8 lanes (and maybe express lanes) along with the blue line extension to Mannheim?

Maybe it'll actually get done in 20-30 years...

It's good till about Mannheim from I-294. By 2025 I-294 should have better interchanges and maybe 5 lanes each way

Eisenhower needs at least 4 each way + AUX from Mannheim to I-94/I-90

Agreed.

You're forgetting by 2025, EOE will also dump more cars on 290/294 as well. I say 290 needs to be at least 8 lanes in each direction plus 2 reversible express lanes like on the Kennedy. I see no reason why there shouldn't be express lanes from Mannheim all the way to say Damen ave.

Even in a very large city like Chicago, it would be a very expensive undertaking! If you made I-290 8 lanes each way, you might as well re-rebuild the Circle Interchange just to accommodate that.

[johndoe780]

at least 8 lanes in each direction

Good luck finding the right-of-way and funding for that...

True, but the problem is very real and evident during most of the day since 290 is more of a parking lot than a highway.

I think more of a problem will come to be Oak Park and the NIMBYers  who whine about 290 yet the highway was built before most of these guys were born. Eisenhower is currently carrying twice as many cars than it was designed to (era 50s construction.)

Now I don't want to vent too much on politics, but thankfully we have someone with a decent IQ and is willing to get rid of this silly prevailing wage law and bring in competitively priced bids.

[johndoe780]

at least 8 lanes in each direction

Good luck finding the right-of-way and funding for that...

True, but the problem is very real and evident during most of the day since 290 is more of a parking lot than a highway.

I think more of a problem will come to be Oak Park and the NIMBYers  who whine about 290 yet the highway was built before most of these guys were born. Eisenhower is currently carrying twice as many cars than it was designed to (era 50s construction.)

Now I don't want to vent too much on politics, but thankfully we have someone with a decent IQ in office and is willing to get rid of this silly prevailing wage law and bring in competitively priced bids.

[triplemultiplex]

Now I don't want to vent too much on politics, but thankfully we have someone with a decent IQ and is willing to get rid of this silly prevailing wage law and bring in competitively priced bids.

I'm sure the big road building companies will happily pass the savings on to the taxpayer rather than pocket the difference.

[Brandon]

at least 8 lanes in each direction

Good luck finding the right-of-way and funding for that...

True, but the problem is very real and evident during most of the day since 290 is more of a parking lot than a highway.

I think more of a problem will come to be Oak Park and the NIMBYers  who whine about 290 yet the highway was built before most of these guys were born. Eisenhower is currently carrying twice as many cars than it was designed to (era 50s construction.)

Now I don't want to vent too much on politics, but thankfully we have someone with a decent IQ and is willing to get rid of this silly prevailing wage law and bring in competitively priced bids.

Oak Park was the big problem when the expressway was first built.  There is a reason why those two fucking left exits exist at Harlem and Austin.

[Joe The Dragon]

Rail roads are in the way

[Brandon]

Rail roads are in the way

That didn't stop the Stevenson from being built with proper right side exits, and the Blue Line was added after the expressway was built.

[I-39]

I still think if the Eisenhower extension didn't exist, the I-88/294 interchange could have been built properly with better traffic flow.

Also, because of it's close proximity to this system interchange, IL-38 should not have an interchange with I-294/290. Eliminating that would help free up lanes for through traffic on I-294/290/88

[tribar]

The IKE needs a massive Katy Freeway esque upgrade.  It needs at least 7-8 lanes in each direction (find the room), reversible or HOT lanes.  Eliminate the left exits as well.  Put the Blue Line underground.  It's embarrassing that a great city like Chicago is served by this clusterfuck.  It's not the 50s anymore. 

[ET21]

Also, because of it's close proximity to this system interchange, IL-38 should not have an interchange with I-294/290. Eliminating that would help free up lanes for through traffic on I-294/290/88

You may as well add in the fact that IL-38 also becomes a temp expressway between 294 and Summit Ave, with exits to IL-83, IL-56, and York Road, further fueling your bottleneck. If this was SimCity (I wish it was this easy), I'd bulldoze and completely re-design the interchange.

And of course the interchange would be better if the extension didn't exist. 290 would just become 88 and vice versa, with stub ramps to N/S 294. However, you'd lose a nice route into the western and northwestern suburbs. Just think how Schaumburg and Woodfield would be without 290. It's bad now with the massive interstate lol

[sipes23]

Oak Park was the big problem when the expressway was first built.  There is a reason why those two fucking left exits exist at Harlem and Austin.

Aren't those supposed to be coming out in the nearish future?

The IKE needs a massive Katy Freeway esque upgrade.  It needs at least 7-8 lanes in each direction (find the room), reversible or HOT lanes.  Eliminate the left exits as well.  Put the Blue Line underground.  It's embarrassing that a great city like Chicago is served by this clusterfuck.  It's not the 50s anymore.

It probably wouldn't hurt anything to bury the whole of the blue line from O'Hare to Forest Park. Who knows how much that would cost though.

[I-39]

And of course the interchange would be better if the extension didn't exist. 290 would just become 88 and vice versa, with stub ramps to N/S 294. However, you'd lose a nice route into the western and northwestern suburbs. Just think how Schaumburg and Woodfield would be without 290. It's bad now with the massive interstate lol

That's where the EOWA would step in. As I stated in the first post, The Elgin-O'Hare Expressway could have be an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension. It is not that far north from the extension, and it would effectively serve the same purpose. Traffic would get on the EOWA several miles north of the Hillside Strangler, eliminating a bottleneck.

The Interstate would still exist in Schaumburg, as what is now I-290 between I-90 and the I-355 split off already existed before the Eisenhower extension was constructed.

[hobsini2]

Also, because of it's close proximity to this system interchange, IL-38 should not have an interchange with I-294/290. Eliminating that would help free up lanes for through traffic on I-294/290/88

You may as well add in the fact that IL-38 also becomes a temp expressway between 294 and Summit Ave, with exits to IL-83, IL-56, and York Road, further fueling your bottleneck. If this was SimCity (I wish it was this easy), I'd bulldoze and completely re-design the interchange.

And of course the interchange would be better if the extension didn't exist. 290 would just become 88 and vice versa, with stub ramps to N/S 294. However, you'd lose a nice route into the western and northwestern suburbs. Just think how Schaumburg and Woodfield would be without 290. It's bad now with the massive interstate lol

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

[I-39]

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

Did you not read my post about the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway being an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension? If you build the west bypass and the portion between the present day I-290 and the west side of O'Hare, then that would be used for traffic. It's only a little bit north of the current Eisenhower extension. This would allow traffic heading that way to get on further north, alleviating the congestion at the Hillside Strangler.

[hobsini2]

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

Did you not read my post about the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway being an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension? If you build the west bypass and the portion between the present day I-290 and the west side of O'Hare, then that would be used for traffic. It's only a little bit north of the current Eisenhower extension. This would allow traffic heading that way to get on further north, alleviating the congestion at the Hillside Strangler.

Yes. So more traffic on 294 AND the Kennedy to get to the EOE is ok with you? That's what would happen in reality. Not to mention the added traffic on Irving Park, Higgins, and North Ave to avoid the congested interstates.

Bad idea.

[I-39]

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

Did you not read my post about the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway being an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension? If you build the west bypass and the portion between the present day I-290 and the west side of O'Hare, then that would be used for traffic. It's only a little bit north of the current Eisenhower extension. This would allow traffic heading that way to get on further north, alleviating the congestion at the Hillside Strangler.

Yes. So more traffic on 294 AND the Kennedy to get to the EOE is ok with you? That's what would happen in reality. Not to mention the added traffic on Irving Park, Higgins, and North Ave to avoid the congested interstates.

Bad idea.

Add a fifth lane on I-294 between I-290 and the EOWA and it would not be much of a problem. It's not that far of a distance.

[johndoe780]

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

Did you not read my post about the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway being an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension? If you build the west bypass and the portion between the present day I-290 and the west side of O'Hare, then that would be used for traffic. It's only a little bit north of the current Eisenhower extension. This would allow traffic heading that way to get on further north, alleviating the congestion at the Hillside Strangler.

Yes. So more traffic on 294 AND the Kennedy to get to the EOE is ok with you? That's what would happen in reality. Not to mention the added traffic on Irving Park, Higgins, and North Ave to avoid the congested interstates.

Bad idea.

Add a fifth lane on I-294 between I-290 and the EOWA and it would not be much of a problem. It's not that far of a distance.

That's going to happen anyway. Part of the reason for doubling the tolls a few years ago was to make 294 10 lanes between O'hare and 95th street.

[tribar]

Not to mention if you get rid of the I-290 extension between I-294 and I-355 how many MORE cars would be added to the Kennedy and NW Tollway. That really is a bad thought I-39.

Did you not read my post about the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway being an alternative to building the Eisenhower extension? If you build the west bypass and the portion between the present day I-290 and the west side of O'Hare, then that would be used for traffic. It's only a little bit north of the current Eisenhower extension. This would allow traffic heading that way to get on further north, alleviating the congestion at the Hillside Strangler.

Yes. So more traffic on 294 AND the Kennedy to get to the EOE is ok with you? That's what would happen in reality. Not to mention the added traffic on Irving Park, Higgins, and North Ave to avoid the congested interstates.

Bad idea.

Add a fifth lane on I-294 between I-290 and the EOWA and it would not be much of a problem. It's not that far of a distance.

There would still be more traffic on the Kennedy. 

Your logic is quite idiotic.