| In 1940, the City Council of Chicago approved the
west route of the Superhighway System of Chicago, which opened for
operation in 1955. This highway system, formerly named Congress
Expressway, was the first in the United States to incorporate a
rapid transit line and an expressway within the same corridor. This
would result in the multi-modal thoroughfare that connects Chicago
and the northwest and western suburbs of today.
The Eisenhower Expressway is a key link in the transportation network
serving northeast Illinois. The Eisenhower Expressway serves as
the main western gateway to the City of Chicago and the Chicago
Central Area. It also serves the rapidly growing western suburbs
as the primary corridor between Chicago, Cook County suburbs, and
the high employment centers of the I-88 Technology Corridor, and
the I-290 corridor to Schaumburg. This network serves major railroad
regional inter-modal freight terminals, as well as the air cargo
complex at O’Hare International Airport.
In 1993, IDOT initiated a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane Feasibility
Study for the I-290 corridor. The study was completed in 1998 and
concluded that significant travel benefits could be gained by incorporating
HOV lanes along with road improvements.
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The improvements to the
“Hillside Bottleneck” in 2001 accomplished what transportation
planners predicted. Drivers now have decreased travel times through
this connection point.
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