Auto Traffic Down On Tollways Since Toll Hike
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- Passenger car travel on the Illinois Tollway decreased during the first week of the new year, since higher tolls went into effect Jan. 1.
As WBBM Newsradio's Brandis Friedman reports, the Illinois Toll Highway Authority says passenger car transactions fell 4.5 percent Tuesday through Sunday, compared to the same period last year.
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That dropoff is still less than the Tollway predicted. It had predicted a 5.9 percent drop in 2012 because of the higher tolls.
Other toll plazas now cost even more. For example, the Waukegan Toll Plaza on I-94 now costs $1.40 (I-Pass) and $2.80 (cash).
Tollway officials say more revenue is needed to pay for a $12 billion roadway improvement program. Plans include widening and resurfacing roads, along with a new interchange to connect Interstate 294 and Interstate 57.
An interest group, Taxpayers United of America, filed a lawsuit last year seeking to block the increases by challenging the Toll Highway Authority's right to charge tolls at all. The group said when the tollways were created in 1953, they were supposed to be turned into freeways within 20 years once the original bonds to fund construction were paid off.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit in December.
Despite the expected decrease in auto traffic, Tollway officials say they expect a 41.9 percent increase in revenue in 2012. Spokeswoman Wendy Abrams says during the first week, revenue increased 45.7 percent.
The increased revenues are attributed to a larger number of tolls paid in cash. But the agency expects that more customers will start using the I-Pass and taking advantage of lower rates, the Chicago Tribune reported.
