Although most Western Springs residents were opposed to the original construction of the Tri-State Tollway, the Illinois Toll Highway Commission prevailed. On April 4, 1957, contractors’ bids were opened for the 5.4 mile stretch of roadway between 71^st & Wolf Road to 31^st Street & the Cook County line. Also included in the plan was a unique “Oasis” service area to be built by Standard Oil (above). 

The new Tollway was to be built directly west of what is now Spring Rock Park.  However, since this area had always been marshy, relatively few homes had been built in this area. In fact, the late Don Kennedy, who was born in Western Springs in 1932, recalled that when he was a boy, “It was wetlands between our town and Hinsdale.” He also remembered that “…the west end of town in that area was largely peat which sometimes burned in the summer. When the breeze was from the southwest, the smell was not very pleasant.”

Despite this, a few Western Springs homes had to be moved or demolished to make room for the 250-foot-wide Tollway. In addition, approximately 25 Western Springs residences, located south of what is now the Whole Foods store, found themselves separated from the rest of the village after the construction of the new roadway. However, in 1966, Hinsdale and Western Springs reached an agreement whereby the boundary line was changed and this area became part of Hinsdale. Click on second photo above.

Just like the Village, the boundary for School District 101 had also extended across the Tollway. As a result, the Tollway built a pedestrian bridge allowing Laidlaw school children to cross the busy roadway. Click on third photo above. In later years, the boundaries for both District 101 and Lyons Township (204) were redrawn, thereby placing elementary and high school students west of the Tollway into the Hinsdale school districts.

Construction of the Tollway was not a pleasant experience for many local residents. Earthmoving crews worked double shifts during the summer and fall of 1957, making it difficult for many residents to get a full night’s sleep. Click on fourth photo above. Also, to enable the construction of the various overpasses and the Ogden Avenue interchange, temporary detour roads had to be built at grade level. After several months of inconvenience to motorists, the new overpasses opened in the summer of 1958. 

On the positive side, the Tollway project reduced potential flooding by channeling Flagg Creek and widening it to as much as 100 feet and lowering the grade of the creek by 12 feet. This was a major improvement for Forest Hills residents, many of whom had experienced flooding prior to the Tollway construction. However, to accomplish this, blasting crews had to remove 150,000 cubic yards of rock. This resulted in considerable noise, as well as numerous insurance claims from affected home owners.    

Tollway paving began in the spring of 1958 at the rate of 3,000 feet per day and was completed that fall. However, in contrast to today’s roadway, the finished Tollway consisted of just two lanes in each direction, separated by a 54-foot median. There was no overhead lighting and no sound walls, just a chain link fence securing each side of the 250-foot-wide right of way.