Transportation Officials To Showcase Ideas For Illiana Expressway
PEOTONE, Ill. (CBS) -- The latest Illiana Expressway proposals go before the public Tuesday and Wednesday night in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, the Illinois and Indiana transportation departments will showcase to the public the possible routes for a proposed Illiana Expressway, linking Illinois with Northwest Indiana from Will or Kankakee County.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports
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Right now motorists and truckers who want to get from I-55 in Will County to I-65 in Indiana either have to go north to I-80 and then east or travel local roads such as Route 30 or Route 6.
An Illiana Expressway – or tollway, depending upon what is chosen – could start as far north as Channahonor as far south as Wilmington.
"We anticipate the road would accommodate more than 40,000 vehicles by the year 2040," said Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell. "More than half of those would be truck traffic."
There is no set time for when construction would begin, or how long it would take. Tridgell says the earliest construction would begin would be 2015.
He says the state would still have to buy the land along the selected route.
The public hearing Tuesday will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Peotone High School, at 605 W. North St. in Peotone.
The public hearing on Wednesday will also be from 5 to 8 p.m., at Lowell Middle School, at 19250 Cline Ave. in Lowell, Ind.
If you can't make it to either of the two public hearings, you can make your comments online on the Illiana Corridor Web site.
