Step could clear way for O’Hare traffic work

State officials say construction could start as soon as next year on a project intended to ease highway access to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport from the west.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said Monday that Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider and Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur signed off on the final environmental impact statement for the project. It is part of the Illinois Tollway’s $12 billion capital program.

The Department of Transportation says the O’Hare project will convert the Elgin-O’Hare expressway into a toll road. The work will also add an eastern extension of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway to the airport and a toll road along the west side of O’Hare between Interstate 294 and Interstate 90.