The Illinois Tollway is threading a brand-new interstate into one of the country’s busiest airport corridors, and the western side of O’Hare is where the work is most visible right now. I-490 is a new north-south tollway that will ring the airport’s western edge and finally give traffic a way around O’Hare without funneling through the Kennedy.
Project Scope
The centerpiece is a tri-level interchange linking I-490 with the Illinois Route 390 Tollway, plus three miles of new mainline, 16 ramps and 15 bridges. Dunnet Bay Construction is the prime contractor on the western interchange work, with Stanley Consultants leading the interchange design and STV handling construction management on six of the ramps and bridges. V3 Companies runs corridor-wide construction management across more than 100 separate contracts, coordinating two Class I railroads, the FAA and the airport.
Why It Matters
O’Hare has never had a true western entrance. I-490 changes that, opening the west side to cargo and passenger traffic that today has to loop around on local arterials. For the freight operators and contractors staged west of the field, the payoff is measured in miles saved per trip. The interchange is scheduled to finish by the end of 2027.
Related coverage & projects
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | Illinois Tollway |
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| Consultants | Stanley Consultants (Interchange Design)
STV (Construction Management)
V3 Companies (Corridor CM) |
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| General Contractor | Dunnet Bay Construction (Western Interchange) |
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| Status | Under Construction |
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| Delivery Method | Design-Bid-Build |
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| Funding Source | Public (State) |
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