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Overview and Scope
History
In 1940, the City Council of Chicago established the Westside Route, or Congress Expressway, as their first priority in a comprehensive superhighway system. The work on Congress Expressway was expected to begin quickly since the war was over, but skyrocketing costs, limited funding, extensive utility relocation, poor subsurface conditions, and the need for agreements with three railroads, municipalities and a cemetery all added time and cost to the project schedule. Construction would also have to accommodate the CTA Congress Line in the median and the temporary relocation of the Douglas Park CTA line. As a result, the first section of the expressway was not completed until December 1954. Construction of individual sections from Mannheim Rd. (US12/20/45) to Racine Avenue was completed between 1954 and 1960, making it one of the oldest sections of the region's highway infrastructure. This section of I-290, named the Eisenhower Expressway, was also the first expressway in the United States to incorporate a rapid transit line and an expressway within the same corridor.
Location
The I-290 study area is located in Cook County and extends approximately thirteen miles centered along I-290 from the I-88 and I-290 split on the west to Racine Avenue on the east. This corridor passes through eight communities: Chicago, Bellwood, Broadview, Forest Park, Hillside, Maywood, Oak Park, and Westchester.
Serving as the western gateway to the City of Chicago and the Chicago Central Area, I-290 is the primary corridor connecting commuters between the western suburbs and the City of Chicago Loop, as well as connecting commuters from south Cook County to the high employment centers found in the I-88 Technology Corridor and the O'Hare International Airport commerce centers.
Scope
The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) is severely congested, has 2,000 crashes per year on average, and most of the pavement and bridges are still original to their 1950’s construction and in need of replacement. To address these issues, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) initiated the Eisenhower Expressway Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Study, from Mannheim Road to Cicero Avenue, in the fall of 2009. The purpose of the study is to improve transportation along the I-290 multi-modal corridor. The specific transportation needs identified include: improve mobility for regional and local travel, improve access to employment, improve safety, improve transit connections and opportunities, and improve facility deficiencies. As the alternative’s evaluation process advanced, there was a need to extend the limits of the I-290 study four miles eastward to Racine Avenue for the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement.
I-290 Study Area
