State senator says tollway officials need to listen to concerns on Tri-State widening

The Chicago Tribune ^ | March 16, 2018 | Kimberly Fornek

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Illinois Tollway invited about 20 Hinsdale property owners to meetings Thursday, but at least 50 people showed up, including state Sen. Chris Nybo.

The Elmhurst Republican asked tollway officials why they are not reconstructing Interstate 290/Interstate 88 interchange first, and then reassess whether the proposed widening farther south with two lanes in each direction is still needed to relieve congestion.

"The tollway has not clearly explained why they need to expand this stretch to six lanes, instead of five, in each direction. That additional lane in each direction is a big deal for Hinsdale and Western Springs," Nybo said after the meeting.

"Before we go any further, these communities are entitled to a clear explanation and an opportunity to make the case that five lanes is more reasonable."

Tollway officials have been holding meetings for property owners who live adjacent to the section of Interstate 294 that will be reconstructed from Rosemont to Hickory Hills. By adjacent, they mean people who share a property line with the tollway.

In Oak Brook, that was three homeowners. None came to the meeting, tollway officials said.

But Hinsdale residents and village officials are more upset than some homeowners because the section from about 22nd Street to just south of the Hinsdale Oasis will be widened from four lanes to six, plus a flex lane on either side of the center median.

"That would make sense if the bottleneck was in our area," said Jane Wareham, who lives across from Brook Park. "But it moves fine through our area."

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Full title:

State senator says tollway officials need to listen to Hinsdale, Western Springs concerns on Tri-State widening

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

But north and south of that section, I-294 will to go back down to four lanes, said Lois Mejdrich, who lives on Highland Road.

Actually, the Tollway is being widened to 10 lanes all the way from O'Hare down to 95th street. But 2 extra lanes will be added to the section being discussed on top of that.

[RedWing9]

They need to create a double deck freeway (6 lanes up top), the top one dumping out at I-80 in the South and I-94 in the north, with only three two-lane exits I-55, I-88, and O’Hare. Entrance ramps only twice as often. Emergency vehicles could use entrance ramps to exit.

We are after all essentially a earthquake free zone so the risk of collapse is minimal.