Why aren't there more freeways in Chicagoland? (Elgin, Waukegan: employment, neighborhoods)

[Lyndale22]

We are brand new to Chicagoland as of this week.
The first thing I asked myself after moving day was, why aren't there more freeways in the Chicagoland area?
There is no direct or simple way to get from Geneva to Oswego or Bolingbrook. There is no practical way to get from Geneva to Schaumburg, or heaven forbid I might want to go to some of the northern suburbs such as Northbook or Glenview.
Why aren't there freeways? Have they been proposed but failed? Have they simply never been considered? Are they on the radar?

[chet everett]

Political cooperation is difficult between towns in different counties. The various congressional issues that would need support from Chicago democrats and suburban Republicans are rare. Land owners that are opposed to development often block highway routes.

There are a whole lot of goofy forces that want costly high speed rail or lunatic Dutch bicycles as the primary means of transportation.

Insiders often engage in unethical deals that leave many useful programs in limbo.

[knitgirl]

We have NO freeways in the Chicago area - we call them expressways. We also have tollroads. Where are you coming from? A lot of the area was well established before the era of massive highway projects and it would have been extremely difficult getting the land to build more big road projects. Also back then, most of the professional type employment was in the Loop so highway building was geared towards moving traffic into and out of the Loop. We have an old family photo of my grandfather with one of my oldest cousins looking at the trench they were making to put the Kennedy in. That destroyed a lot of old neighborhoods.

[cubssoxfan]

The plans for more expressways were in place. Then the combination of not building before the right of ways became overbuilt, NIMBY's and the heightened awareness of the detraction of expressways especially in urban areas doomed many expressways that would be very beneficial.
Some of the proposed and cancelled expressways are:
-Fox Valley Expressway. Would have alleviated a lot of traffic off of Rte 59.
-Rte 53 Extension/Rte 120 Expressway. Still be contemplated even though it was proposed in the 60's.
-Crosstown Expressway.
-Prairie Parkway.
-Western Leg of Elgin-O'Hare Expressway.

[supportyourschools]

There are two direct routes to get from Geneva to Oswego. You can take Route 25 if you're east of the Fox River, or Route 31 if you're west of the river. There is a third route, Randall Road to Orchard Road, which is not quite as direct as the first two routes, but it's helpful if you're on the far west side of Geneva.

As far as the other places you mentioned, I agree.

[madpaddy]

Originally Posted by Lyndale22

We are brand new to Chicagoland as of this week.
The first thing I asked myself after moving day was, why aren't there more freeways in the Chicagoland area?
There is no direct or simple way to get from Geneva to Oswego or Bolingbrook. There is no practical way to get from Geneva to Schaumburg, or heaven forbid I might want to go to some of the northern suburbs such as Northbook or Glenview.
Why aren't there freeways? Have they been proposed but failed? Have they simply never been considered? Are they on the radar?

An expressway between Geneva and Oswego that's precious!



If you wanted a place with easy expressway access to all points yonder, your first mistake was to choose to live in sleepy little bedroom community on the far outskirts Chicagoland that is not near an expressway. Perhaps you should relocate to somewhere closer to the city that sits at the intersection of two or more major expressways like Park Ridge, Elmhurst, Oakbrook, Downers Grove, Rolling Meadows, etc. There are plenty of expressways in Chicagoland. Just none in Geneva.

[pvande55]

You could write a book on the subject. In fact many of the routes you mention have been proposed and in some cases Right of Way purchased. The "Crosstown" was on the books for decades, neighborhood opposition killed it. Extending 53 into Lake County is on-again, off-again. Then there is the "Foxway" along the Fox River, usually failing because there isn't enough money to build it and population too sparse. And the rising sentiment that it is ridiculous to build eight lanes that are only needed four hours a day. But parts of some have actually been built: Rt 83 south of Oak Brook, the US 14 bypass of Woodstock, and the Amstutz in Waukegan.

[Lyndale22]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

We have NO freeways in the Chicago area - we call them expressways. We also have tollroads. Where are you coming from? A lot of the area was well established before the era of massive highway projects and it would have been extremely difficult getting the land to build more big road projects. Also back then, most of the professional type employment was in the Loop so highway building was geared towards moving traffic into and out of the Loop. We have an old family photo of my grandfather with one of my oldest cousins looking at the trench they were making to put the Kennedy in. That destroyed a lot of old neighborhoods.

We came from Minneapolis, where there's a freeway every couple of miles (a divided, multi lane road free of intersections, RR crossings, driveways, and so on).

[grapico]

Originally Posted by Lyndale22

We came from Minneapolis, where there's a freeway every couple of miles (a divided, multi lane road free of intersections, RR crossings, driveways, and so on).

Sounds like a nightmare. Chicago is a train/public transit metro with a massive urban core.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by madpaddy

If you wanted a place with easy expressway access to all points yonder, your first mistake was to choose to live in sleepy little bedroom community on the far outskirts Chicagoland that is not near an expressway. Perhaps you should relocate to somewhere closer to the city that sits at the intersection of two or more major expressways like Park Ridge, Elmhurst, Oakbrook, Downers Grove, Rolling Meadows, etc. There are plenty of expressways in Chicagoland. Just none in Geneva.

There may be "plenty" in Chicagoland, but probably not "enough."

Consider a leisurely drive from Rogers Park or West Ridge, to the Southwest Side (Marquette Park, for example). That's an hour during the daytime. It shouldn't take an hour to get between two places in Chicago. Funneling everyone through downtown is a big part of the problem.