Story posted Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Dist. 214 To Host Special Meeting On O'Hare Ring Road
Township High School Dist. 214 will host a special meeting tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. at Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Hts. to discuss IDOT's (Illinois Dept. of Transportation) ring road expressway at O'Hare Airport and how, if at all, it will affect the school district.
With the expansion of O'Hare Airport, there are a number of different options currently on the table to upgrade Thorndale Avenue so it can become an expressway.
One of the options includes improving Route 83 instead of building a bypass west of O'Hare. IDOT officials are also mulling the idea of combining improvements to arterials or building part or all of a bypass that would lead into the airport.
The bypass would consist of a ring road stretching approximately five miles in length.
However, seven roadway options are still possible and a number of transit ideas are also still being worked on.
All vehicle traffic currently must enter O'Hare on the east side of the airport.
The new western terminal would be aligned so the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway can come directly into O'Hare Airport.
A 300-ft. corridor along O'Hare's western boundary is protected to accommodate a bypass road (ring road) that could eventually connect I-90 and I-294 and alleviate road congestion near the airport.
"Elk Grove Village would be impacted and that in retrospect impacts us," said Venetia Miles, director of community relations. "However, none of our busses transport students on Route 53 or Interstate 290. The board just wants to discuss how this proposed plan may or may not affect us down the road."
The six high schools Dist. 214 serves includes Buffalo Grove High School, Elk Grove High School, John Hersey High School, Prospect High School, Rolling Meadows High School, and Wheeling High School.
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