Will you like the state's plans for Eisenhower?

If you live in the Western suburbs, it's likely the Eisenhower is part of your life.

It's the annoying rush-hour crawl into Chicago for work. When work's done, it's how you get to everything from Blackhawks' games to the Art Institute to Marshall Field's, sorry, Macy's.

It's your ticket to the big city and your escape route home.

Which is why we're interested in a state engineering and environmental study of I-290 from west of Mannheim Road to east of Cicero Avenue.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is considering rebuilding and possibly widening an 8-mile stretch of the Ike roughly between Oak Park and Hillside.

The agency will hold a public meeting to discuss the project from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the Best Western, 4400 N. Frontage Road, Hillside.

As Eisenhower drivers know to our sorrow, the expressway narrows from four to three lanes starting around Austin Avenue to Mannheim Road, creating stress for everyone squeezing into the bottleneck.

But as a former Oak Parker, I know the issue is hot, hot, hot for communities straddling I-290 that don't want to lose land.

IDOT engineer Peter Harmet stressed that nothing's been decided yet - except for the fact the pavement is 50 years old and showing its age.

"What we know is that as of today, this portion of the Eisenhower needs to be reconstructed," said Harmet, IDOT bureau chief of programming.

"We're just beginning the three-year process to identify how it will be reconstructed."

Asked about widening, Harmet said "we expect to look at a wide range of options across all modes of transportation."

The goal is to come up with an I-290 plan "that makes it safer and more efficient for everyone who uses the corridor."

However, the transportation department notes on its Web site that between 2000 and 2030, the region's population will grow by 1.8 million.

Entities involved in the decision include Chicago, Hillside, Bellwood, Westchester, Maywood, Broadview, Forest Park, and Oak Park plus Cook and DuPage counties. Other stakeholders are the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and freight railroads.

Harmet is no stranger to communities at odds with public works projects. He's just wrapping up the first stage of planning for the Elgin O'Hare Expressway extension east and a western bypass around O'Hare International Airport.

"I think impacts to communities are a concern on every project," he said. "We want to work with everyone and find a solution. We have a lot of work ahead."

The cost? I'd say millions and millions.

Harmet says, "it will be driven by what the plan is."

And in case you were wondering, the Eisenhower is one of the oldest expressways in the region. It opened in segments between 1955 and 1960, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. The Kennedy Expressway opened in 1960 and the Stevenson Expressway in 1964. The average Ike daily traffic counts are 114,766 vehicles eastbound and 96,078 westbound.

"It's a major gateway to the city of Chicago and vice versa to the Western suburbs," Harmet said.

For more info, check out www.eisenhowerexpressway.com. The Nov. 18 meeting is open to everyone and will be an open-house format with exhibits.

Flotsam and jetsam

• For anyone who takes public transit, there are two significant meetings this week. Pace is likely to decide, at a meeting at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Arlington Heights, whether to cut 51 bus routes in the suburbs and raise paratransit fares. And, the Chicago Transit Authority board is expected to vote on a budget proposing service reductions and fare hikes at a meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday.

• Next year, American Airlines starts a new service from O'Hare to Beijing Capital International Airport. The first nonstop flight to Beijing is on April 26.

• United Airlines is bringing a whole new meaning to haute couture. The Chicago-based carrier is hiring Chicago native and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley to take employee uniforms to a higher level. Starting in 2011, pilots, flight attendants and customer service representatives will sport a "modern, consistent look" with "increased functionality in design and more breathable and durable fabrics." But will it improve flight times?

• If you're driving on Route 59 near Plainfield watch out for traffic in the next few weeks while IDOT shifts drivers onto new lanes as part of Route 59 reconstruction. The worst will be between Route 30 and Caton Farm Road.

• Expect a big IDOT announcement early in December on the western bypass option around O'Hare. There are four alternatives on the table for connecting the bypass to I-90 to the north and I-294 to the south. The bypass would join up with the long-awaited extension of the Elgin O'Hare Expressway east to the airport.