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
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
I-80 Coalition News
New grass-roots I-80 Coalition seeks to speed up road improvements
A new grass-roots effort, known as the I-80 Coalition, has been launched by the Will County Center for Economic Development to hasten needed improvements to I-80.
New coalition wants to speed up I-80 work
A new I-80 Coalition is being formed to speed up long-term plans to improve the interstate.
Tollway willing to step in to fund I-80 upgrades, chairman tells Joliet City Council
The chairman of the state tollway board laid out a case to the Joliet City Council on Monday for turning the local stretch of Interstate 80 into a toll road.