First stretch of I-490 tollway opens near O'Hare, two years behind schedule

The first section of the new Interstate 490 tollway opened to drivers and trucks early Saturday in the northwest suburbs, the first major piece of a long-delayed plan to build a western entrance to O’Hare International Airport.^{1, 2}

The 1.5-mile stretch runs in both directions between the Tri-State Tollway, I-294, and Franklin Avenue in Franklin Park, NBC Chicago reported.¹ One new ramp carries northbound I-294 traffic onto northbound I-490 toward Franklin Avenue, and a second takes Franklin Avenue traffic to southbound I-294 by way of southbound I-490, according to ABC7 Chicago, citing the Illinois Tollway.²

A costly road

The interchange is part of the $4.3 billion Elgin-O’Hare Western Access project, and the road is running about $900 million over budget and two years behind schedule, ABC7 reported.² Construction began in 2018 and has included widening and modernizing I-294, according to NBC Chicago.¹

Tollway officials told ABC7 that the ramp passes directly over railroad tracks, so crews had to work around freight train schedules.² Construction schedules were also complicated because the road sits next to the airport’s airspace, officials told the station.²

What the road is for

When it is finished, I-490 will connect the Jane Addams Tollway near Des Plaines to the Tri-State Tollway in Franklin Park, running along the western edge of O’Hare.¹ It will also link to Illinois Route 390, and officials expect the network to reduce congestion around the airport, ABC7 reported.²

The finished tollway will give freight companies and suburban commuters a way to reach the northwest suburbs without going through Rosemont, NBC 5 traffic reporter Kye Martin said.¹

Local officials welcomed the opening.² “It’s a game changer,” Bensenville Village President Frank DiSimone told ABC7.² “It’s gonna bring more people, more businesses, more transportation to four communities.”²

The owner of Tacos Puebla, a restaurant just down the road from the new exit ramp, expects more customers from the added traffic and plans to put up a billboard near the ramp, the station reported.²

What comes next

Work now moves north, where crews are building an interchange with the I-390 tollway, which begins in Hanover Park, according to NBC Chicago.¹ The Franklin Avenue interchange and the northern extension of I-490 are expected to open in 2029, NBC Chicago reported, and ABC7 reported that the whole project is expected to be finished that year.^{1, 2}