Schaumburg works on details for Meacham Road ramp

Schaumburg trustees Tuesday discussed a proposed memorandum of understanding between the village and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to turn the long-held dream of a westbound off-ramp from the Addams Tollway onto Meacham Road into reality by 2016.

And a similar memorandum of understanding for a full interchange at Roselle Road could be worked out among the village, toll authority and Cook County in about a month, village officials said.

Mayor Al Larson spoke of the importance of easing visitors' access to not only the Schaumburg Convention Center but also to IKEA, Roosevelt University and Woodfield Mall.

“It's the heart of our regional center and our desire to build a downtown for the Northwest suburbs,” Larson said.

The village board is expected to vote on authorization of the Meacham Road memorandum next Tuesday, April 23.

The memorandum also touches on future plans for an on-ramp from Meacham Road to the westbound Addams Tollway, but specifies a timeline only for the off-ramp.

Nevertheless, from a practical standpoint, it's reasonable to expect the tollway authority to do both simultaneously, Schaumburg Transportation Director June Johnson said.

Construction of the bridge work for the project is expected to begin in 2014 with the ramps to open in 2016.

The village's share of the off-ramp cost is estimated at $16 million, with $7 million more for the probable on-ramp, Johnson said.

The village's share is expected to be paid with bonds supported by funds from a tax increment financing district to be created in late summer.

The TIF would cap the amount of property taxes going to local governments for several years while taxes generated above that amount would go back into development.

Though the village would love to see a full interchange at Meacham Road, the proximity of Route 53 to the east makes that likely unfeasible, Johnson said.

So traffic coming from the convention center is still likely to use Algonquin Road to make its way back onto the eastbound Jane Addams via Route 53.