As state officials move closer to rebuilding the Eisenhower Expressway, Oak Park officials say they’re keeping close tabs on plans and evaluating their own ways to take advantage of the big dig.
“We’ve been having a series of meetings on a fairly routine basis so we can begin to break down the redevelopment plans of the Eisenhower into manageable chunks,” Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said.
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She described the informal presentation at the special meeting on April 27 as the inaugural step towards the construction process.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is in the final stages of a multi-year study on rebuilding I-290, and anticipates choosing which major reconstruction projects it wants to pursue on the Eisenhower by the end of 2015, according to the village’s website.
IDOT’s plans so far include a widening of the expressway through Oak Park from six to eight lanes and moving the exit and entrance ramps to the right side of the expressway at Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard. Other features under consideration include high-occupancy vehicle lanes and toll lanes.
Oak Park’s recommendations include rebuilding the interchanges at Austin Boulevard and Harlem Avenue and improving the other bridges that cross the expressway with wider sidewalks, bicycle racks and landscaping to help create more attractive crossings — and by extension, more commercial activity near the CTA Blue Line stations in the area.
Another goal: Replacing 60-year-old water mains that run underneath the highway.
“When IDOT built the Eisenhower in the 1950s, they removed all the existing water crossings and replaced them with five new ones,” said Bill McKenna, an engineer with the village. “They removed two sewer crossings … and diverted the additional sewer flow to the East Avenue sewer.”
McKenna said the village has already experienced three water main failures in the area. Because of this, he wants the village to consider improving the water and sewer mains alongside the other planned construction for the area.
“We’d recommend replacing all five water crossings. Right now, the estimate for that is $5.4 million,” said McKenna. “For the sewers, we’re recommending installing a new sewer crossing at Oak Park Avenue to take the place of what was removed with the original Eisenhower construction and a rehabilitation of the other sewers.”
The sewer work is expected to cost about $8 million. McKenna said another reason for repairing infrastructure in the area is to reduce the likelihood of the expressway and CTA rail facilities becoming flooded.
To address that, village staff said IDOT plans to upgrade storm drains and pump stations.
“The intent is never having flooding on the road during that kind of storm,” said McKenna.
Moving forward, the village would need to present a letter of intent to IDOT with the projects that Oak Park plans to pursue. This letter would allow the project to move into the design phase; The construction itself would most likely not be completed for another decade, said Pavlicek.
“One of the things I’m concerned about here is the money,” said Village President Anan Abu-Taleb. He asked Pete Harmet, IDOT’s bureau chief of programming for the Chicago region, if the Eisenhower construction plans could avoid breaking the existing water and sewer lanes so the village would only have to pay to maintain them instead of outright replace them. Harmet said because of their age, it made the most sense to replace them, especially since the construction will allow easy access to the water utilities.
“Well, I feel we have a good relationship with IDOT and CTA, and I think we’ll be able to work through any challenges that may come up [during these projects],” said Abu-Taleb.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.