Illinois notes

[invincor]

I was looking at my 2026 Rand McNally atlas this morning, specifically at the Chicago area, and I see they have marked a new short tollway under construction, running north-south along the west side of O'Hare. 
Does anyone know if that's going to get an interstate number when it's done?

[kphoger]

I was looking at my 2026 Rand McNally atlas this morning, specifically at the Chicago area, and I see they have marked a new short tollway under construction, running north-south along the west side of O'Hare. 
Does anyone know if that's going to get an interstate number when it's done?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_490_(Illinois)

[Sapphuby]

US 24 is once again closed for repairs and inspection on the Mississippi. Unknown time of reopening. I fear they might just shut it completely down soon and speed up the process of building a new one.

[3467]

Speaking of 24 there was a public hearing on 4 lane between Banner and Kingston Mines and what looks like about a mile of IL 9.
Also reconstruction is underway on 67 North of Monmouth
And tree clearing is complete for the new Beardstown Bridge.
A public hearing was also held for the Centennial bridge between Rock Island and Davenport. Unlike the other bridges this one is very popular as is.

[3467]

I was reviewing my previous analysis of the Supplemental Freeway System
I am using the original 1965 map . I am going to look at metro Chicago later
There are 2 short routes I am excluding 30 because the original tollway plan made it moot.
Then there are later Peoria routes I am excluding because 412 ,39 brushed it.
Here are the non 4 lane miles of the remaining corridors
Illinois 1 and US 50 make up the bulk .And in Lebanon bypass I brought up the Question was 1 built in Indiana and did 64 really replace US 50
Anyway Illinois 1 I start at IL 17 223 miles 4 lane sections are In the South and Danville area
US 50 106
US 51 53 or is it 44 which is direct from 4 lane and to 57 53 is from end to Sandoval.
Peoria Macomb 42
67 North of Monmouth 34
Macomb to Meridosia 48
Finally 20 46
There are two under study and  or in the DDD process
Sw connector 68 and 67 Jerseyville to Roodhoouse 26.

552 miles not 4 lane out of an original 1567

[3467]

Now other multi lane or ROW
US 50
2sections of 4 lane ROW 23 and 56 to 60 miles and about 3 miles of 3 lane though towns
Illinois 1 About 10 miles of 3 lane in towns.
51 2in towns
Peoria Macomb 3
20 Mostly passing lanes 10.44 and 4.07 under construction
67 North 5 passing and town plus 11 miles of new 34 to 36 foot wide pavement in Warren County
South About 3 and a 44 foot wide bridge.

[Henry]

I was looking at my 2026 Rand McNally atlas this morning, specifically at the Chicago area, and I see they have marked a new short tollway under construction, running north-south along the west side of O'Hare. 
Does anyone know if that's going to get an interstate number when it's done?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_490_(Illinois)

Besides, it's been in several other editions before this year's, so not exactly new. Same with the IL 390 eastern tollway extension.

[edwaleni]

Speaking of 24 there was a public hearing on 4 lane between Banner and Kingston Mines and what looks like about a mile of IL 9.

And tree clearing is complete for the new Beardstown Bridge.
 

Kingston Mines to Canton via Banner is a busy highway. A lot of people living in Canton work at the Cat factory along the river and in Pekin.

IDOT just finished what will probably be the last major patchwork on the existing Beardstown Bridge. It was down to a signaled 1 lane for much of 2025 to support the work. Lots of rebar replacements.

[3467]

Yes and beyond Canton there is a selection of empty roads west. 336 has ended the corridor protection dropped and Peoria County is building something there instead . A building not a road.
The Beardstown Bridge was considered for southbound lanes but it's in poor condition . They did practice a detour last year . I suspect they worry it won't last the 3 year Construction period.
Speaking of long construction 67 North of Monmouth will take 2 years . The stakes are out and it's going to be a lot of work.
There was also a hearing on the Centennial Bridge. Keeping it has a lot of support.

[edwaleni]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

[Rick Powell]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

[edwaleni]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

[Rick Powell]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

I haven't heard much about the Channahon logistics center. IDOT would mostly get involved in access permitting issues along US 6 since it is the only state-maintained highway in the immediate area besides I-80. We are looking at long range improvements to US 6 between IL 47 and Channahon; a Phase I study is in the MYP for US 6 east of Mission Parkway in Morris to Bell Road in Channahon. The Brisbin Road/I-80 interchange, and its nearby intersection at US 6, were built over 10 years ago with lane expansion in mind.

[ET21]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

Yeah 47 is considered a boundary when I storm chase. Once you go east of that, it's rough going trying to keep up with storms given the suburban sprawl. Glad to see its almost fully 4 lane, think the last section remaining 2 lane is from 88 to Burlington?

[Revive 755]

Yeah 47 is considered a boundary when I storm chase. Once you go east of that, it's rough going trying to keep up with storms given the suburban sprawl. Glad to see its almost fully 4 lane, think the last section remaining 2 lane is from 88 to Burlington?

IL 47 does not go back to four lanes until around southern IL 72/US 20 intersection.  Then after the northern IL 72/US 20 intersection it goes back to two lanes until about halfway between Big Timber Road and the I-90 interchange.

This is also not counting the long two lane stretches north of Huntley.

[dvferyance]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

Illinois is losing population. So I am not so sure about that.

[Rothman]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

Illinois is losing population. So I am not so sure about that.

A state can gain in certain locations and lose in others...

[NWI_Irish96]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

Illinois is losing population. So I am not so sure about that.

A state can gain in certain locations and lose in others...

Yeah Kendall County grew 14.9% between 2010 and 2020 and Grundy County grew 4.9% over the same time frame.

[kphoger]

I haven't lived in the area for 20 years (almost exactly), so it's been a long time since I was last on Route 47.  But, looking at the map, how on earth is it still not four lanes all the way from Sugar Grove to Morris?  Especially Sugar Grove to Yorkville.  I figured that would have all been widened long ago.

[Rick Powell]

I haven't lived in the area for 20 years (almost exactly), so it's been a long time since I was last on Route 47.  But, looking at the map, how on earth is it still not four lanes all the way from Sugar Grove to Morris?  Especially Sugar Grove to Yorkville.  I figured that would have all been widened long ago.

The Morris-to-Caton Farm Road (south of Yorkville) section was 4-laned using some of the funding that was originally intended for the abandoned Prairie Parkway project. The sections from Caton Farm Road to IL 71, and Kennedy Road (north end of Yorkville) to Sugar Grove, have been in planning a long time and should be going to letting in FY 27. There were a lot of issues to overcome in bringing IL 47 to readiness, including several re-designs of the railroad grade separation in north Yorkville. 

[edwaleni]

I haven't lived in the area for 20 years (almost exactly), so it's been a long time since I was last on Route 47.  But, looking at the map, how on earth is it still not four lanes all the way from Sugar Grove to Morris?  Especially Sugar Grove to Yorkville.  I figured that would have all been widened long ago.

The Morris-to-Caton Farm Road (south of Yorkville) section was 4-laned using some of the funding that was originally intended for the abandoned Prairie Parkway project. The sections from Caton Farm Road to IL 71, and Kennedy Road (north end of Yorkville) to Sugar Grove, have been in planning a long time and should be going to letting in FY 27. There were a lot of issues to overcome in bringing IL 47 to readiness, including several re-designs of the railroad grade separation in north Yorkville. 

Was the redesigns about an overpass of BNSF at Eldamain Road or a complete reconstruction of the BNSF/IL-47 viaduct? I can only assume BNSF wants a viaduct that supports 3 tracks over the current 2.

[Rick Powell]

Was the redesigns about an overpass of BNSF at Eldamain Road or a complete reconstruction of the BNSF/IL-47 viaduct? I can only assume BNSF wants a viaduct that supports 3 tracks over the current 2.

This does not involve Eldamain Road which is a county highway. IL 47 will go under the BNSF as it does now. There have been several changes of staff and consultants at the railroad, and each time decisions were made that set the project back. Plus the usual construction and maintenance agreement that often needs to be hammered out with the railroad by the state's and railroad's lawyers, and each round of design changes also triggering changes in the agreements. There will be 3 tracks going over IL 47 which also is compatible with Metra's long range plan to extend commuter rail to Kendall County. The 3rd track is basically a temporary bridge and track "shoo-fly" to allow staging of construction of the remaining tracks, but the 3rd bridge will be built as a permanent structure that can carry a track in the future. The BNSF mainline will remain at 2 tracks west of Aurora for now.

PS - at one time Eldamain Road was looked at as a station site for the Metra BNSF extension, but as time went on, IL 47 became the choice in the area. I am not sure how much momentum the extension has right now, but it was being actively studied with public meetings, etc. a few years ago.

[Revive 755]

^ The railroad underpass couldn't be left as a separate project, as seems to be happening for North Aurora Road at the CN near Aurora (https://maps.app.goo.gl/cPrj1qurnNuVQqVB8)?

[Rick Powell]

^ The railroad underpass couldn't be left as a separate project, as seems to be happening for North Aurora Road at the CN near Aurora (https://maps.app.goo.gl/cPrj1qurnNuVQqVB8)?

Underpass diet! Seriously, railroad grade separations, especially where the railroad goes overhead, have gotten astronomically expensive compared to just 20 years ago. I was PM on a project in Kankakee on IL 113 in the early 2000s and I think the letting bid was less than $2 million which also included a new 5 lane pavement underneath, and running a new drain to the Kankakee River.

[hobsini2]

An ask for @Rick Powell

Has IDOT made any planning headway on the IL-47 Yorkville Bypass?

Werent you looking at a new bridge over the Fox River?

The 4 lane upgrade ends at Caton Farm.

The Prairie Parkway was going to function as a limited access "Yorkville bypass" and a Fox River crossing was designed but never built. However, Kendall County built a Fox River crossing about 800 feet east of where Prairie Parkway would have been, and made other improvements to the Eldamain Road corridor. It's basically a 2-lane road with a center median, with both the bridge and the roadway set up for eventual expansion to 4 lanes. Going south to north, you can now turn west from IL 47, go west on Walker Road to Lisbon Road, go north on Lisbon until it turns into Eldamain, and travel north on Eldamain a few different ways depending on when you want to get back to IL 47. Kendall and Grundy have a very long range goal of improving Lisbon/Saratoga road from IL 71 to US 6, with a possible I-80/Saratoga interchange.

On IL 47 itself, we are currenty working on plans and land acquisition between Caton Farm and IL 71 for an add lanes project. We are close to finalizing plans and land acquisition for IL 47 for the section north of Yorkville, and District 1 is getting close to letting the next section north from Galena Road to Sugar Grove. Once everything gets built out, IL 47 will be 4 lanes between Southmor Road south of Morris to Waubonsee CC in Sugar Grove.

OK, I see the Edelmain Road/Lisbon Road connection now. Thank you.

IL-47 is going to be next west suburban north-south arterial as the suburbs move ever westward.  I looked at the tax maps for the IL-47 and IL-71 interchange and it appears IDOT has good ownership in all but 1 quadrant.

With the massive growth of logistics in the I-80/US-6 corridor west of Joliet, did anything come up in IDOT about Minooka's attempt with CN to build that large logistics center there. I think I posted on it a couple of years ago and the last public hearing was pretty noisy about traffic on US-6.

Yeah 47 is considered a boundary when I storm chase. Once you go east of that, it's rough going trying to keep up with storms given the suburban sprawl. Glad to see its almost fully 4 lane, think the last section remaining 2 lane is from 88 to Burlington?

ET, I also have Route 47 as the boundary of no return for storm chasing as well as down to I-80 and east to Indiana and north to Route 173 east to the Lake.

And then there are general areas of Illinois I don't chase in because of terrain or big rivers or forest. South of Route 13 into the Shawnee Forest, Jo Daviess County, Calhoun County, etc.