I-290 Blue Line Coalition Launches Website
The I-290 Blue Line Coalition (Coalition), a private nonprofit organization committed to reconstruction of the I-290 Eisenhower Expressway and the Forest Park Branch of the CTA Blue Line unveiled their launch site.
The Coalition, representing labor, local government and business and industry supports the social and economic welfare of Northeastern Illinois by advocating for the completion of the I-290 Blue Line Reconstruction Project, a 13-mile multimodal transportation facility from downtown Chicago west to Mannheim Rd. in the Village of Hillside.
This corridor has been deprived of infrastructure investment for decades. Completing this project will positively impact job growth, development of new housing and commercial facilities, and improve the overall quality of life for corridor residents. Promotion of such spending will benefit all taxpayers and infrastructure users by providing value, efficiency, and safety.
Up until now, funding for the $6 billion project was out of reach. With $45 billion of new state funding through the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supporting $1.2 trillion in transportation and infrastructure projects, this is a once in a generation opportunity to fund the I-290 Blue Line modernization program.
The Coalition will inform state, federal and local officials of the importance of moving this project forward now. It will provide updated information on the project to residents, small and large businesses, contractors, engineering firms and the building trades. The Coalition will support IDOT and the CTA in their pursuit of federal funding to get this project completed by 2030.
For more information on the Coalition and how you can get involved in this important effort, contact John Greuling at john@I-290blueline.com
Current I-290 News
CTA secures funding for West Side transit improvement design, construction
The funding will support further design work on the Forest Park Branch Rebuild project and upgrades to the Division/Austin bus turnaround. The Chicago Transit Board has authorized a pair of intergovernmental agreements with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and with the city of Chicago that will fund transit infrastructure improvements across the city’s West Side.
New National Report Ranks I-294/I-290/I-88 Interchange as Most Congested Freight Bottleneck in the U.S.
New national data shows the interchange of Interstate 294 and Interstates 290/88 in the Chicago region is now the most congested freight interchange in the United States, underscoring the urgent need to advance the I-290 Blue Line Reconstruction Project. This project is widely considered the most important transportation project in Illinois.
Chicago’s I-294 interchange takes over as nation’s worst freight bottleneck
The interchange of Interstate 294 and Interstates 290/88 in Chicago has dethroned the George Washington Bridge interchange of I-95 at SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as the most congested freight bottleneck in the U.S., according to the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual Top Truck Bottleneck List.
Granite wins IDOT’s first-ever CM/GC contract for$350 million I-290 drainage project
Granite Construction has been selected by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)for a construction manager/general contractor contract to for the I-290 drainageimprovements project in Chicago — IDOT’s first-ever CM/GC project.