$100 million Touhy Avenue improvement project breaks ground in Des Plaines

A $100 million project to fully reconstruct Touhy Avenue between Elmhurst Road and Mount Prospect Road and expand access for travelers, including to the I-490 tollway, broke ground Thursday in Des Plaines.

At nearly $100 million, it is the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways’ largest project to date, according to a release from the Cook County Board office, and aims to reduce congestion, improve safety and promote economic activity in the area. The project is slated for completion by the end of next year.

“Transportation investment should support our region’s economic competitiveness and maintain our position as the freight capital of the nation,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at the ceremony, noting one of several core principals for the project.

In addition to the full reconstruction of Touhy Avenue between Elmhurst Road and Mount Prospect Road, which would help reduce traffic congestion for more than 32,000 vehicles that use the corridor each day, the project would also build a new bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad and the planned I-490 tollway.

It will also help in the construction of a much-desired western access to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and help maintain a vital regional transportation network in the area, officials said.

“The work Cook County is beginning here today on Touhy Avenue is integral in delivering the new I-490 tollway,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse, highlighting the $4.3 billion Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project as a “project of national and regional significance” due to its potential to improve mobility, connectivity and the national and regional economy.

The project, which secured $41.5 million in Congestion Mitigation Air Quality federal funding and $5 million from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Local Project Funding program, also aims to enhance safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the area with the likes of sidewalks, traffic lights, drainage systems and bus shelters.

Other roadway enhancements include a realignment of Old Higgins Road and Mount Prospect Road to create new intersections at Touhy Avenue.

Preckwinkle and other officials described the multiagency project that spanned federal, state and local government resources as a “team effort.” The project would be done in partnership with Cook County, the Illinois Tollway, Illinois Department of Transportation, city of Chicago, Chicago Department of Aviation, Elk Grove Township, Elk Grove Village and the city of Des Plaines.

“Together with our state, tollway and municipal partners, we navigated the complexity of local needs and project impacts across multiple jurisdictions. And that collaborative spirit has paid off,” Preckwinkle said.