If you’ve been facing congestion on your way to O’Hare, relief is finally on the way.
The Touhy Avenue Multimodal Safety and Capacity Improvement Project officially broke ground on Thursday, March 5th.
This $99.1 million roadway upgrade project will completely rebuild Touhy Avenue between Elmhurst and Mount Prospect roads.
What exactly is the Touhy Avenue Multimodal Safety and Capacity Improvement Project?
It will elevate Touhy Avenue with new bridges over the existing Union Pacific railroad tracks and the new Tollway I-490. The project also involves realigning Old Higgins Road and Mt. Prospect Road, as well as enhancing the intersection of Touhy Avenue and Elmhurst Road.
The primary goal of the project is to significantly reduce congestion on this busy roadway, which carries approximately 32,000 vehicles daily, according to CBS News.
In addition to alleviating congestion, the project is expected to enhance national freight railroad operations by creating a grade separation at one of the busiest Union Pacific rail crossings in the region. This improvement will also make air travel and shipping easier by providing better access to O’Hare.
Touhy Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Chicago, running from the Rogers Park neighborhood to Elk Grove Village —connecting areas such as Lincolnwood, Skokie, Niles, Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood, Park Ridge, and Des Plaines.
The avenue is named in honor of Patrick Leonard Touhy, an Irish immigrant and real estate developer who significantly contributed to shaping Rogers Park.