Is The Illiana Expressway Dead?
Supporters of the project estimated the road could help boost the region's economic output by $4 billion.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAnother roadblock has been placed in front of the proposed Illiana Expressway. The Federal Highway Administration has withdrawn its appeal of a Federal District Court ruling involving a key environmental impact decision.
The plans for the 47-mile tollway that would connect I-65 in Lowell and I-55 south of Chicago had already been in jeopardy by a series of setbacks. In June, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner issued a statement saying the proposed $1.5 billion project "will not move forward at this time." This came after he announced in January the Illiana Expressway was on a list of proposals he would not agree to fund as part of a new state budget.
Not long after Rauner’s announcement, U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso struck down a 2013 Federal Highway Administration approval of the 47-mile proposed tollway. This week, the administration announced they would no longer seek to appeal the ruling.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center, who serves as lead counsel for plaintiff organizations against the project calls the plan a "boondoggle" and says it is time for the agencies behind the Illiana Expressway to end it for good.