Although the concept of an Elgin–O'Hare Expressway dates back to the 1960s, the highway was not seriously considered until the late 1980s. Around that time, congestion was rapidly increasing on local roads, especially US 20 (Lake Street). Although Lake Street was extensively widened prior to the completion of the highway, initially to Glen Ellyn Road and then to the Roselle-Bloomingdale border nearly ten years later, its capacity was still considered insufficient for the rapidly growing western suburbs. Construction on the highway began around 1991 and was completed two years later. Governor
Jim Edgar opened the highway at an afternoon ceremony on November 2, 1993. On October 29, 2013, IDOT announced that the highway was re-designated IL 390 at groundbreaking ceremonies for the Elgin–O’Hare Western Access Project. Shortly after, maintenance of the road was transferred to the
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA), and toll collection on the existing segment from US 20 in
Hanover Park to
I-290 in
Itasca began in 2016. ISTHA began constructing an eastward extension of IL 390 to a new interchange on the western border of
O'Hare International Airport with the planned
I-490 connecting
I-90 to the north and
I-294 to the south. This interchange may also incorporate ramps into a planned western terminal at O'Hare. The official groundbreaking for the expansion took place on October 29, 2013. East of
I-290, IL 390 was formerly a four-lane arterial at-grade road known as Thorndale Avenue until its conversion into an extension of IL 390, along with the interchange with I-290. Thorndale Avenue ran from I-290 to York Road near the western border of O'Hare International Airport. After its conversion, the Thorndale Avenue designation was assigned to the new frontage roads along both sides of the eastern extension of IL 390. == Future ==