Stormwater Management

 

The Illinois Tollway strives to implement best practices to control, reduce and filter stormwater discharge through coordinated efforts in the planning, design and construction phases of a project.

These efforts are developed, implemented and enforced in order to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the Tollway system to protect water quality and satisfy the appropriate water quality regulations. The Tollway is often required to secure a stormwater permit through project consultation and coordination with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

Bioswales

The Illinois Tollway partnered with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) to implement a stormwater demonstration project along the North Tri-State Tollway in northern Cook County.

The demonstration project includes approximately 16 acres of Forest Preserve property from Touhy Avenue near O'Hare Airport to Lake Cook Road. The Tollway developed the bioswales project to facilitate the widening and reconstruction of the North Tri-State Tollway while at the same time managing the stormwater runoff from the roadway.

 

We worked with the FPDCC to develop a stormwater management system to reduce stormwater pollutant loadings and volumes. This system was developed with input from the stakeholder groups consisting Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Friends of the Forest Preserve, Openlands Project, Friends of the Parks, Cook County Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Geologic Survey, and the Morton Arboretum. The final stormwater project includes bioswales along more than 30,000 linear feet of roadway.

Plans for vegetation were developed to establish a native plant community that could tolerate pollutants found in roadway runoff. 

Environmental Stewardship

       2015 NPDES Report