The Connect Program is rebuilding I-290 and the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line.

We’re restoring this critical regional transportation link to improve access and local connections for people who live, work, and travel along the I-290/Blue Line corridor.

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About the Connect Program

By working with communities and program partners, the Connect Program seeks to foster safer travel, stronger connections, and opportunities for economic and neighborhood vitality. Key efforts include:

Rebuilding the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line

Modernizing the I-290 Eisenhower Expressway

Coordinating and integrating local and community improvements

Two passengers wait as a CTA Blue Line train pulls into Forest Park Station.

I-290 Blue Line Corridor by the Numbers

Why Now?

If you live or travel along the corridor, you know improvements are needed to make your travel safer, faster, and more reliable. Some of the main corridor challenges include:

  • Unreliability: 77% of the Forest Park Branch operates in a slow zone.

  • Congestion: The I-290 corridor is one of the most congested in the United States, causing severe delays on the expressway and local roads.

  • Safety: An average of 2,000 crashes are recorded on the corridor every year, a rate 70% higher than other Chicago expressways.

  • Inaccessibility: 6 of 11 corridor stations are inaccessible.

  • Disconnection: 70 years ago, construction of I-290 created a physical divide in Chicagoland’s western communities.

I-290 Blue Line Corridor Existing Conditions

We’re working with communities to achieve a new vision for the corridor centered around 7 themes:

A Bold New Vision

This shared vision will guide Connect Program development, from the projects we invest in to how we partner with communities.

Children approach accessible pedestrian bridge in Oak Park walk Interstate 290 and a Forest Park bound CTA Blue Line train.

$1.65+ billion

has been secured to address today’s needs and prepare for the future.

These improvements include:

  • Making your train commute faster and more reliable with upgraded train tracks

  • Providing ADA-accessible facilities through improvements at Racine Station

  • Addressing flooding issues with stormwater improvements

  • Creating safer transportation access and connections by improving 24 overhead bridges

Train stopped at CTA Blue Line Racine station's new entrance seen from the south, with some construction netting up around the track.
Aerial photo of a railway bridge crossing over I-290.
Aerial view of freight train travelling over the Connect 290 Blue multimodal corridor.

Connect Program Map

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Learn More About Identified Improvements