11/24/2008  Illinois Tollway to Hike Fees for Trucks

The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors approved a plan to raise tolls on trucks by 60 percent, with no increase in tolls for cars. The toll increase for trucks will be phased in over 2015-2017. Beginning in 2018, tolls for trucks will be tied to the Consumer Price Index.

The approval for the toll increase for trucks comes just four years after the Tollway increased truck tolls by as much as 300 percent, points out the Midwest Truckers Association, which opposed the plan. An increase for tolls on automobiles was not included; the last time the Tollway increased tolls on cars was in 1983, MTA reports.

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich commended the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors for adopting the new $1.8 Billion Capital Plan. The plan includes the implementation of an Interchange Improvement Program and development of a Green Lanes Plan, which will offer access to buses and ride-sharing commuters at regular I-Pass rates for the heaviest-used segments of existing roadways, charging premium prices for single-occupant vehicles.

The Illinois Tollway will build/improve two crucial interchanges on the Tri-State Tollway at (I-294)/I-57 and on the James Addams Memorial Tollway at (I-90)/I-290-IL Route 53, and the Tollway will invest in new or expanded arterial interchanges. On the Tri-State Tollway, the Tollway will invest up to $500 million to build a new interchange at one of the few points in the nation where Interstates cross, but do not connect. The Tollway will also invest up to $500 million into the redesign and construction of an interchange at the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and I-290/IL Route 53 to reduce area congestion due to decades of explosive regional growth.






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