Pritzker signs law allowing Will County more control over tollways

Would allow Will County Board to set toll rate for Houbolt Road bridge

By ALEX ORTIZ
The Herald News

A 3-D printed model of the Houbolt Bridge sits on a piece of paper with the Des Plaines River on Aug. 14, 2018, during an informational forum at Joliet Junior College in Joliet.

On Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a measure giving county governments authority to establish toll rates on public roadways, a key component of the future Houbolt Road bridge project.

The law, S.B. 531, allows the Will County Board to establish a rate for a toll bridge over the Des Plaines River near Houbolt Road, according to a news release.

Then-Gov. Bruce Rauner announced the proposed toll bridge in 2016 as a unique public-private partnership in which CenterPoint Properties would build and own the bridge. The bridge would cross the Des Plaines River and provide a direct connection to Interstate 80 for semitrailers coming out of CenterPoint Intermodal Center-Joliet.

Joliet area state legislators touted the legislation and its importance for traffic flow to I-80.

“The long awaited bridge project will begin the process of helping alleviate our congested truck areas,” state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, said in the release. “It is a good example of a private-public partnership benefiting our community.”

Read the full article at theherald-news.com