Western access to O’Hare through I-490 three years away

After years of planning, western access to O’Hare International Airport is starting to be measured in cement.

Illinois tollway officials and U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi gave an update Monday on two major projects interfacing with the airport.

“I’ve been to this facility so many times … this is the first time we’ve actually talked about a ramp going into O’Hare from the west,” Krishnamoorthi said at a briefing from a tollway maintenance building in nearby Bensenville.

Construction crews are “right at the doorstep of O’Hare,” Chief Engineer Manar Nashif said.

What that means is momentum for building an interchange that will link an extended Route 390 (formerly the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway) and I-490, a toll road wrapping around the airport’s western side.

The interchange will lead into a western entrance to O’Hare when it’s completed in 2027. The Chicago Department of Aviation is planning a parking lot for airport employees initially, and has said additional amenities would be based on market demand.

Suburban leaders have long pushed for western access and a terminal.

“It’s the first time we’ve talked about piercing the western edge of the airport,” said Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Schaumburg. He added that next steps will include negotiations with the city about offering parking for the general public and “someday” a western terminal.

“Obviously, it’s contingent on other factors like traffic at the airport, but if anyone’s traveled lately we know (O’Hare’s) chockablock with passengers,” he noted.

Meanwhile, work continues on I-490, which will connect with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) in Franklin Park and Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) in Des Plaines.

“We’ve nearly completed ramps connecting I-294 with the new I-490,” Nashif said.

To the north, crews are building ramps linking I-490 and I-90, he said.

Tollway officials gave a tour of a construction site near O’Hare’s south airfield to show a segment of the northbound I-490 lanes. They noted that to the north would be the future interchange with Route 390, a massive undertaking with multiple ramps.

The new toll road is challenging because of its proximity to O’Hare and several railway lines. Nashif pointed out bridges built for relocated runway approach lights.

“There’s been a lot of cooperation and coordination with our federal partners. (It’s) a very complex project,” Nashif said.

“We are very excited about … all the economic development that is coming with this project,” he added. “You can see it in this whole region, not only the travel benefits but the economic development and jobs.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241125/transportation/right-at-the-doorstep-of-ohare-i-490-three-years-away-with-western-access-negotiations-coming/