I-490 (Western O'Hare Bypass)

[ChiMilNet]

https://www.eisenhowerexpressway.com/
Check here, funding is held up.

Regarding Oak Park, it was a resident who commented in Trib, "don't want to make it easier for people in Naperville to drive to Loop." And one wanted to "landmark" the left hand ramps, to keep 290 narrow. But, if their City gov't is helping, good for them.

As a former Oak Park resident, that comment doesn't surprise me one bit.

In my opinion, give Oak Park two choices, either allow the widening and fixing the ramps to make them conventional or tell Oak Park they will be removed to allow for widening and no replacement ramps built. If they don't want to play nice, skip over their city!

[Rick Powell]

In my opinion, give Oak Park two choices, either allow the widening and fixing the ramps to make them conventional or tell Oak Park they will be removed to allow for widening and no replacement ramps built. If they don't want to play nice, skip over their city!

Again, Oak Park has a

https://www.eisenhowerexpressway.com/
Check here, funding is held up.

Regarding Oak Park, it was a resident who commented in Trib, "don't want to make it easier for people in Naperville to drive to Loop." And one wanted to "landmark" the left hand ramps, to keep 290 narrow. But, if their City gov't is helping, good for them.

As a former Oak Park resident, that comment doesn't surprise me one bit.

In my opinion, give Oak Park two choices, either allow the widening and fixing the ramps to make them conventional or tell Oak Park they will be removed to allow for widening and no replacement ramps built. If they don't want to play nice, skip over their city!

As I stated  before, the village government is on board with the replacement of the left hand ramps with right hand ramps, as well as the other currently planned improvements. A lot of the hard opposition within the village government went away when the current mayor got in. He is not running for re-election, so who knows what the future brings. One key factor is that there are some issues with village maintenance of the bridges across 290 from the original construction and agreements that are becoming expensive to fix, and the village would like to get them rebuilt.

[US20IL64]

Learned that what I called "X Interchange" is actually SPUI. So put more of them in our area. I-55 [Stevie X-Way] at Central Av is one example.

[JoePCool14]

This thread's fallen way, way down the order. Wanted to see if anyone has any updates on the status of this? I'm assuming they're looking at a 2027 opening date correct?

I wonder if they'll do a cycling event before the road opens. I'll come back down for that if they do.

[ET21]

Still building as far as I know. Lot of the ramps are getting built at York/Thorndale. They just started the Touhy Ave project. The 294 interchange is pretty much done

[Revive 755]

This thread's fallen way, way down the order. Wanted to see if anyone has any updates on the status of this? I'm assuming they're looking at a 2027 opening date correct?

I think there was a newspaper article in the past few months that hinted at full completion being delayed.  Haven't heard if a shorter portion of I-490 may be opened first.

Seems to be a couple stretches that are really far from being completed, particularly near Touhy Avenue and near/along IL 19/Irving Park Road.

[JoePCool14]

Ah, very believable that there would be a delay. Seems they did good to get the terminus interchanges done, but the road in between is far from completed. I feel like they'll wait to open the road in one go instead of opening the southern or northern halves first.

[Beltway]

Visited the project this Jan. and last Jan.

Very little visible progress on the part west of ORD and south of ORD. Very little excavation so far.

[The Ghostbuster]

There are some signs of progress on Google Maps (like the future 90/490 trumpet interchange), but for a new tollroad being constructed, the Satellite View of the corridor looks pretty barren at present: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.977281,-87.9146754,10078m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.

[Quimby]

The Touhy Ave improvement project at the future I-490 interchange breaks ground.  It'll be a total reconstruction between Elmhurst Rd and Mt. Prospect Rd. and will include an overpass over the new tollway as well as over the railroad tracks.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/afternoon-briefing-touhy-avenue-project-breaks-ground-in-des-plaines/

[JoePCool14]

There are some signs of progress on Google Maps (like the future 90/490 trumpet interchange), but for a new tollroad being constructed, the Satellite View of the corridor looks pretty barren at present: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.977281,-87.9146754,10078m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.

Yikes. Now I'm wondering if they'll even finish it in 2027.

The Touhy Ave improvement project at the future I-490 interchange breaks ground.  It'll be a total reconstruction between Elmhurst Rd and Mt. Prospect Rd. and will include an overpass over the new tollway as well as over the railroad tracks.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/afternoon-briefing-touhy-avenue-project-breaks-ground-in-des-plaines/

Good timing!

[mgk920]

Now . . . to extend the IL 390 tollway westward to feed into Lake St (US 20).  Clear ROW.

Mike

[The Ghostbuster]

The western end of IL 390 is still in its study phase: https://agency.illinoistollway.com/outreach/projects-in-your-community/us20-interchange-improvement-study. So it will be awhile before it is constructed.

[Rick Powell]

The western end of IL 390 is still in its study phase: https://agency.illinoistollway.com/outreach/projects-in-your-community/us20-interchange-improvement-study. So it will be awhile before it is constructed.

The "auxiliary ramps" project would extend IL 390 another half mile west to County Farm Road. There is additional right of way available (obtained years ago) to extend it further west to near the US 20-North Avenue intersection but it would be an expensive project and might need additional right of way and building relocations to make it work. Not sure if the revenue generated would justify the cost of providing the ability to hop from US 20 onto the Tollway 2 miles further to the west than today. But, the Tollway will be looking for projects like this in its next capital program.

[silverback1065]

The western end of IL 390 is still in its study phase: https://agency.illinoistollway.com/outreach/projects-in-your-community/us20-interchange-improvement-study. So it will be awhile before it is constructed.

The "auxiliary ramps" project would extend IL 390 another half mile west to County Farm Road. There is additional right of way available (obtained years ago) to extend it further west to near the US 20-North Avenue intersection but it would be an expensive project and might need additional right of way and building relocations to make it work. Not sure if the revenue generated would justify the cost of providing the ability to hop from US 20 onto the Tollway 2 miles further to the west than today. But, the Tollway will be looking for projects like this in its next capital program.

Is 390 eventually going to run into US 20 immediately east on SR 59? 

[Rick Powell]

Is 390 eventually going to run into US 20 immediately east on SR 59? 

If the County Farm ramps are built, there is relatively open land to the west that could conceivably be used to connect to IL 59 directly and US 20 indirectly via IL 59. But most of that corridor is a Commonwealth Edison power line and there are several park lands that are federally protected. Near IL 59, lots more housing and park lands that would be a challenge to fit a tollway.

https://imgur.com/a/0CsDTek

The enclosed aerial mark-up shows the approximate location of the proposed County Farm ramps in yellow, the approximate (mostly IDOT-owned) vacant corridor connecting to US 20 and North Avenue in blue, and the approximate Com Ed-owned corridor in solid red. At the west end, the lower dashed red line is the Com Ed corridor and the northern dashed red line is a rough corridor idea located mostly in park land. It will be tough to build anything in the red, in my estimation.

[Quimby]

Is 390 eventually going to run into US 20 immediately east on SR 59? 

If the County Farm ramps are built, there is relatively open land to the west that could conceivably be used to connect to IL 59 directly and US 20 indirectly via IL 59. But most of that corridor is a Commonwealth Edison power line and there are several park lands that are federally protected. Near IL 59, lots more housing and park lands that would be a challenge to fit a tollway.

https://imgur.com/a/0CsDTek

The enclosed aerial mark-up shows the approximate location of the proposed County Farm ramps in yellow, the approximate (mostly IDOT-owned) vacant corridor connecting to US 20 and North Avenue in blue, and the approximate Com Ed-owned corridor in solid red. At the west end, the lower dashed red line is the Com Ed corridor and the northern dashed red line is a rough corridor idea located mostly in park land. It will be tough to build anything in the red, in my estimation.

I read Silverback's question as being about the corridor in blue on your map which meets up with US 20 east of 59, not the red corridor, which would take 390 west to 59. 

[Quimby]

Speaking of IL 390, what is the likelihood that its route designation will be changed to Interstate 390 once I-490 is completed and opened to traffic?

Other than IL-390, the only stretch of Interstate-standard roadway in Chicagoland that does not have an Interstate designation that I can think of is Route 53 from I-90 north to Lake Cook Rd. 

[bschultzy]

Is IL 390 fully up to interstate standards? It already connects to I-290.

As far as other non-interstate routes that don't have interstate numbers but *may* be up to standards include:

IL 394 from US 30 north to I-94/294
US 20 Rockford bypass
US 34 Galesburg bypass
IL 6 north of Peoria
IL 255 north of I-270
US 51 south of Decatur

Again, I don't know for sure if these segments are up to interstate standards.

[3467]

34 will be when there is a bridge replacement done and it's an NHS route when the at grade intersections begin . I DOT did ask for 174 once for it.
255 is for sure and the locals had pushed
The Centennial expressway really isn't though it's a freeway.
The Jacksonville bypass is and it's part of business 72 .

[3467]

CMAP has a Draft Regional Capital projects interactive page.
The Interchange is there but not a further extension. They also have a diverging diamond at the current end.
Also interesting is the Grayslake bypass freeway and the revival of the Mid City transityway. The decedent of the Crosstown.

[Rick Powell]

I read Silverback's question as being about the corridor in blue on your map which meets up with US 20 east of 59, not the red corridor, which would take 390 west to 59. 

I looked at the Cook and DuPage tax maps and verified that IDOT owns a substantial part of the yellow/blue corridor already, although there are some apparent intervening private landowners and the optimum design might also require some additional right of way beyond what IDOT owns. Whether the tollway would entertain going further west along US 20 to IL 59 or farther, past the blue corridor...it would be a substantial task to eliminate the entrances and at-grade intersections and to relocate businesses, homes and infrastructure that would be affected. Plus the opposition to tolling a currently non-tolled US 20. The tollway going to County Farm is a relatively low-impact incremental improvement, and gets more complicated the further west the extension is taken.

[edwaleni]

I have gone through all those public hearings material for IL-390/US20 since time memorial between Lake Street all the way to Elgin.

- IDOT owns adequate land to reach IL-59 except in one spot. The businesses at the corner of Lake Street and Oak Street. They have already notified them that IDOT will press to purchase the land and demolish the strip mall there when the funding is available.

- IDOT owns the land to redirect Oak Street and connect it with Bartlett Road. They purchased that land back in the 1990's from the developer across from Eastview School. There will be an urban style exit ramps there.

- IDOT will have to create a frontage road on the north side of US-20 between Bartlett Road and IL-59 that will facilitate fire and emergency access to:
- Old Lake Street
- Red Oak Drive
- Valley Lane
- North Ave.

Club Tree Drive will be sealed off.

The Crest Motel will be demolished.

Park Ave. was never settled. The argument was an exit or simply a frontage access for trucks.

As for the ROW between IL-59 and the Elgin Bypass, the most noise is coming from a group of car dealers that have set up across from the Villa Olivia ski resort. They will not accept a frontage road or an exit. An exit will require too much of their land. They say a frontage road will cause them to close for lack of business.

Of course, if the funding appears, new hearings will change it all over again.

Elgin zones the west of it and Bartlett zones the east of it.

[The Ghostbuster]

I think it is very unlikely that IL 390 will become Interstate 390. It will likely remain a state highway, like IL 394. Historically, there were other state highways with possible Interstate numbers: IL 190 (later IL 5, now Interstate 88); IL 194 (now Interstate 90); and IL 594 (now Interstate 190).

[3467]

That's very interesting what land is owned.
I notice the mileage sign starts at 6 on 390.


I have been looking back at IDOTS land aquisition. They have most of the land for 53 and Grayslake.
But they did but land for the Foxway. Do they have any of that left?