Itasca lays out western access hopes

As plans unfold for western access to O'Hare International Airport, Itasca leaders hope to coordinate efforts with about 10 local municipalities and lobby for designs that could benefit their communities.

Village leaders met Tuesday to discuss progress they've made in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the agency currently planning to expand the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway for airport access. They also raised questions on what to do if the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority takes over the project due to the state's budget woes, although no such move has been announced.

"This could be a corridor of economic development if we get the access points we're looking for," Village Administrator Dave Williams said. "If we don't, it's just an expressway that will run through these communities and will do nothing more than divide them."

After two years of working with IDOT, Itasca and a handful of other municipalities hope to see a design called "Alternative 203," Williams said. For Itasca, this could include full access to the expressway at Rohlwing Road, Park Boulevard and Prospect Avenue - key areas near Itasca's economic center.

On March 2, Itasca aims to pass a resolution in concert with communities like Bensenville, Wood Dale and Elk Grove Village that outlines hopes to keep this design and other stipulations if the tollway takes over the project. The idea, said Village President Jeff Pruyn, is for all involved municipal leaders to have the resolution in hand when they meet with state officials March 8 in Chicago.

"You have a total consensus by affected communities, which doesn't happen very often," Pruyn said.

Itasca officials also raised questions they need answered if the tollway gets involved. Nicole Aranas, Itasca director of community development, said the village must learn if local traffic behavior will be affected by drivers trying to avoid tolls. They also wonder if they would have to pay for the interchanges outlined in the current IDOT plan.

"We don't know what's going to happen," she said. "The village just needs to cover all of it's bases."