Dear Western Springs Residents,
It seems the topic on many people’s minds is the planned expansion of the I-294 Tollway along the central corridor between 95th Street and Balmoral Avenue. Village officials have been working together with the Tollway planners from the project’s inception to make sure our concerns are heard and addressed. As the project develops, the Tollway has sought our input to ensure that the expansion has as minimal an effect on our residents as possible.
On October 2, 2017, Village Manager Velkme and I met with Illinois Tollway Authority Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and his Chief of Staff Kevin Artl. At that meeting, I addressed the reconstruction of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe bridge, the widening of the lanes, the impact that the project will have on the residents as well as infrastructure concerns near the construction. In addition, we spoke about the additional lanes, removal of the Hinsdale Oasis, and the project timeline. The comments were positively received by Chairman Schillerstrom. The Village was assured that the expansion plans would fairly impact both the East and West sides of the Tollway. Likewise, we were assured the BNSF reconstruction would fairly affect impacted communities on both sides of the Tollway.
The following is a rough timeline of the project:
- Master Plan is anticipated to be presented publicly late fall of 2017 or early winter of 2018. Public meetings with individual communities and stakeholders regarding a final proposal of a preliminary design plan will follow. The Concept Plan will be completed in 2018.
- North Avenue Interchange Project will begin in 2019
- Reconstruction of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) bridge will begin in mid-2019.
- The Mile Long Bridge Construction will begin in 2019
- Mainline Tollway reconstruction from Balmoral Avenue to 95th street will begin in 2022. Anticipated end date is 2025.
The Village will continue to monitor the project and will provide you with updates as they become available.
In other news, don’t miss our Village sponsored Styrofoam collection this Saturday morning, 9:00 -12:00 p.m. at the Grand Avenue Community Center. The Village is working together with Dart Container Corp. and the First Congregational Church Green Team to offer this free service to our residents.
With warm regards,
Alice Gallagher
Village President