Drivers heading out for the Fourth of July weekend can save nearly 90 cents a gallon by choosing carefully where they fill up across the Desplaines Valley area, according to a Thursday survey of 28 stations.
The cheapest regular unleaded found was $3.63 at SNK, 8301 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview, while the highest — $4.49 at the Shell station at 9137 Ogden Ave. in Brookfield — illustrates just how wide the gap has grown heading into the holiday.
The area average stood at $3.98 as of Thursday, down slightly from $4.20 recorded June 22, continuing a gradual retreat from a late-May spike that briefly pushed the average above $5.13. Prices are roughly 70 cents higher than they were in late May before that surge but have leveled off over the past several weeks.
The Harlem Avenue corridor in Bridgeview and Summit continued to offer the most relief for budget-conscious drivers. Four of the five cheapest stations in the survey sat along that stretch. Shell at 8700 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview came in at $3.67, Thorntons at 5900 S. Harlem Ave. in Summit was $3.69, and two stations — Pilot at 7501 S. Harlem and Shell at 7050 S. Harlem, both in Bridgeview — were tied at $3.75.
Drivers who fill up closer to Chicago or along the Ogden Avenue corridor in Brookfield can expect to pay significantly more. The BP at 6751 W. Archer Ave. in Chicago was $4.29, the Mobil at 5448 W. 55th St. in Chicago was $4.39, and the Shell in Brookfield topped the survey at $4.49 — 86 cents more than the cheapest station found.
A driver filling a 15-gallon tank at the SNK in Bridgeview instead of the Shell in Brookfield would save about $12.90 on a single fill-up — enough to cover most of a holiday weekend car wash or a bag of charcoal.