Public Forum to Address Eisenhower Makeover

The good news: Officials with the Illinois Department of Transportation are considering extensive makeovers of the Eisenhower Expressway to help ease congestion and reduce crashes.

The not-so-good news: The plans call for the brunt of road to take place from east of Cicero Avenue to just west of Mannheim Road, likely making gridlock on the stretch of road even worse, if only temporarily.

IDOT officials will present a number of renovation scenarios at Wednesday's public forum at Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy, 8601 W. Roosevelt Rd., Forest Park. The forum, which runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., is designed as an open house, where participants are free to drop in, review plans and give feedback to various IDOT officials. 

Wednesday's forum is IDOT's second public session on the renovations. Among the topics up for discussion are finding efficincies for rail, bus, auto, bicycle and pedestrian transportation along the corridor.

Also on the table is a proposal to expand CTA Blue Line service further into the western suburbs and to offer other mass transit options. According to Chicago Tribune reporter John Hilkevitch:

An expansion of the CTA's Blue Line rail service, from its current terminus in Forest Park to DuPage County, and other new transit services are among the possibilities, officials said. They include a proposed light-rail line and a designated bus-rapid transit corridor that would be open to express buses traveling between the suburbs and downtown at least part of the day.

For much more on the Eisenhower Expressway renovation, see the project's website.