Construction Equipment Guide
470 Maryland Drive
Fort Washington, PA 19034
800-523-2200
Construction crews in Chicago are making progress on the $534M I-490 project, connecting the I-90 with the I-294 tollways. The interchange will ease access to O'Hare International Airport and alleviate traffic congestion in the western suburbs. Project completion is expected in 2027.
Tue January 14, 2025 - Midwest Edition #2
With a significant amount of work behind them, construction crews in Chicago continue tackling a complex project that will provide a full-access interchange connecting the new I-490 Tollway to the Illinois Route 390 Tollway. The work has been broken into several contracts, with a variety of prime and subcontractor involvement.
"The I-490/Illinois Route 390 Tollway is a critical segment of the new I-490 Tollway, and a vitally important link that will allow drivers to more easily travel through the western suburbs by connecting the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway [I-90] with the Tri-State Tollway [I-294]," said Manar Nashif, Illinois Tollway chief engineering officer. "For the first time, it will provide direct access into and out of O'Hare International Airport from its west side."
The western portion of the interchange is already complete. The next phase of the project includes constructing six bridges over railroad tracks and York Road. When completed, those bridges will span York Road and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
The $534 million undertaking includes construction of 3 mi. of I-490 Tollway mainline roadway, along with 16 ramps and 15 bridges to deliver full mobility on the west side of the airport.
Last fall, the Tollway issued a notice to proceed for the interchange bridge project. This represents a major milestone, putting the Tollway one step closer to making the interchange a reality.
As for traffic interruptions during the ongoing construction, said Nashif, "This interchange is not yet open to drivers, so there are no adverse impacts to Tollway customers. The Illinois Tollway is reconstructing a portion of York Road within the new I-490/Illinois Route 390 Tollway Interchange area and including additional work in collaboration with the DuPage County Division of Transportation.
"The roadway reconstruction and drainage improvements being made have resulted in York Road being reduced this year to a single lane in each direction. The York Road reconstruction work is scheduled to be completed in 2027."
The I-490 Tollway will run near the edge of O'Hare and is designed to travel through the area where runway lighting is currently situated.
"Some approach lights will be moved onto bridges built by the Tollway to allow I-490 to follow its planned course along the edge of the airport without disrupting the approach lights used by aircraft landing at the airport," said Nashif. "The Tollway is tremendously pleased with the progress of this project, which remains on schedule and on budget."
Regional and long-distance traffic will be able to easily bypass a portion of the Central Tri-State Tollway by taking I-490 around the western edge of O'Hare to more easily access I-90 or reach businesses, warehouses and logistics centers in the western suburbs.
According to Nashif, the biggest challenge on the project will be construction of the piers located in- between the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific Railroad tracks, as well as the subsequent girder erection and superstructure construction over those same tracks. Completing the Tollway's work while accommodating the shifting operational schedules of the railroads is the main concern.
The Tollway has made significant gains to date, completing approximately half the work required to build this interchange. The next phase, which requires constructing bridges over railroad tracks and York Road, is the most complicated portion of the project.
The contractor began work on the six bridges last fall and construction of the piers west of the railroad tracks began.
Equipment on site includes large cranes, grading equipment and drilling equipment to construct the bridges.
The materials used in the construction of the bridges includes high-performance concrete for bridge decks; epoxy coated reinforcement bars; steel piles for bridge pier footings; concrete for bridge piers and footings; and structural steel for bridge girders."
Work on the interchange began in 2017. Fortunately, the Tollway has experienced few delays this year, based on local forecasts.
"The weather in the Chicago area is unpredictable, but we feel that with proper planning we are able to navigate through weather challenges to keep work moving," said Nashif, who explained the Tollway is constructing narrow steel bridges so that approach lights for O'Hare runways can be relocated from the ground to bridges when complete.
"This will allow for the new I-490 Tollway to be constructed underneath. These lights are an important navigational aid used to help guide commercial jets as they land from the west on O'Hare Airport runways.
"This work is necessary because the planned path of the new I-490 Tollway will take it through approach lighting systems for six runways. At each runway location, a string of more than a dozen approach lights flash sequentially and serve as a visual aid for pilots."
Nashif said building the bridges will allow several of the approach lights for each runway to be elevated above the I-490 right-of-way, so the new road can be built underneath.
"In this new configuration, jets can continue to use the lights as a navigational aid when landing at O'Hare at night or when visibility is poor. Based on its location, each bridge will hold either three or four of the light towers.
"Because the distance between the lights is critical, engineers and construction crews have to ensure that each light on the new bridges will be located between 90 and 105 ft. apart — maintaining the same spacing required of the other lights on the ground at either end of the bridges."
Since all the approach lights at the western end of each runway must be taken out of service during construction of each new bridge, the Tollway has been limited to constructing one bridge annually to limit the impact of the work on daily flights. The Tollway is responsible for constructing four of the bridges, while the Chicago Department of Aviation is constructing the remaining two.
In 2022 and 2023, the first two of the four new bridges were completed, and lights made operational for Runway 10 Left near the southern end of O'Hare and Runway 9 Left near the northern end, respectively.
In 2024, crews completed building the third bridge at the end of Runway 10 Center. The final bridge is scheduled to be built in 2025.
"The Tollway would not have been able to complete this work without the support of Chicago Department of Aviation and the Federal Aviation Administration, both of whom have been great partners in the delivery of this important regionally and nationally significant project," said Nashif.
Railway/railroad-related construction also has required a great deal of planning.
"It's been extremely challenging to coordinate the Tollway's work with the operations of the railroads. The train schedules are unpredictable. But even with those challenges, the Tollway is finding ways to complete the work without interfering with railroad operations.
"This may involve changing the sequence of the work or means and methods for completing certain elements of the work. The Tollway is pleased with the cooperation it has received from all three railroads, which have tracks crossing through the area."
Nashif said any earthwork and drainage improvements required will be performed in conjunction with the construction on the new bridge piers. The Tollway is sequencing the work so that drainage flows are maintained, while ensuring that proper erosion and sediment control measures are taken to minimize impacts and meet permitting requirements.
"It's exciting and rewarding to work on a project that will address so many transportation needs, including allowing drivers from across northern Illinois to travel more safely and easily in the coming years by linking two new all-electronic Tollways and opening a new route for our customers to easily reach O'Hare Airport from its western side.
"We're also pleased this interchange will create new connections to our system for businesses in nearby communities, which will help fuel economic development and trigger job growth that will benefit the region. The Tollway is truly honored to be entrusted to deliver this transformative and once-in-a-lifetime project to the region." CEG