Tollway close to deal on land to build O'Hare ring road
The Illinois tollway is expected to vote on and agree to a deal with the Canadian Pacific Railroad over land near Bensenville for a western bypass of O'Hare International Airport this week.
The agency has scheduled a last-minute meeting Wednesday concerning "approval of a letter of intent with the Canadian Pacific Railroad."
Both sides had been negotiating for months after disputes over the acquisition.
The tollway is seeking to build bridges for a ring road on the west side of O'Hare over CP tracks near one of the railroad's busiest yards. The tollroad dubbed I-490 would connect to the Tri-State Tollway in Franklin Park and Jane Addams Tollway in Des Plaines. In the middle it would connect with Route 390, the former Elgin-O'Hare Expressway that is being extended into the airport.
CP officials have contended the tollway's demands would result in shutting down the rail yard for days and disrupting freight traffic across the region and country.
The tollway said the railroad was being unreasonable and threatening an infrastructure project that will ease congestion and create thousands of jobs.