WESTERN SPRINGS, Ill. — A noisy problem is building in Western Springs.
John and Alex Rimmele bought their family’s home over 25 years ago. Outside, just 20 feet away, stands a noise wall, and then the Tri-State Tollway.
Their home — a three-story tree house — has been dubbed by friends and family as the ‘Rimmele Resort.’
“Everybody knows that’s the Rimmele treehouse,” Alex Rimmele said. “They can see it, they can wave from the expressway.”
After years of meeting with the village of Western Springs and the tollway about the construction project, the Rimmeles just found out the construction project on the tollway is happening whether they like it or not.
“We had a meeting with them maybe April, May of this year,” Alex Rimmele said. “We’re really concerned about where the placement of the wall is going to be and that they’re going to put up a taller wall that is going to go all around our property- essentially blocking the horizon from our house.”
The removal and construction of a newer, taller wall is all a part of the Central Tri-State Tollway construction project.
In a statement, the tollway said in part, “The Tollway has both delayed the removal of the existing wall, and expedited the construction of the replacement wall to minimize the duration of time homeowners are without the walls. The new noisewall is expected to be completed by the end of the year, so it will be in place to reduce construction noise when mainline work on the I-294 project begins late this year.”
Moving forward, the Rimmele’s would just like to see better communication and for the project to not damage the foundation of their house.