Illiana Expressway dead? Not so fast

Now Northwest Indiana business and tourism leaders are quietly trying to persuade legislators to move forward with the project.

In a series of closed-door meetings with key members of the General Assembly last week, representatives of the Northwest Indiana Forum argued funding for a feasibility study of the entire Illiana --from Interstate 57 in Illinois through Interstate 65 to Interstate 94 -- should be approved this session.

Forum Director Vincent Galbiati said the group's objective in Indianapolis was simple: Remind lawmakers there is a great deal of support in Lake and Porter counties for the road project.

"From a business perspective, our membership represents $40 billion in commerce," Galbiati said. "We wanted them to understand business leadership is backing them if they decide to pursue this."

While stressing he respects the well-organized opposition to the Illiana, especially among homeowners near the road's proposed eastern portion from I-65 to I-94, Galbiati said he urged legislators not to be swayed only by the people who have turned up at community meetings to speak against the plan.

"We have people who are frightened about losing their homes, and they have done a commendable job of making their position heard," Galbiati said.

"So let's say there are maybe 3,000 people actively involved in that organized opposition. There are 350,000 voters and people who are employed in the region. To our members and many people they employ, this project makes a whole lot of sense as a way to stimulate economic growth."

Speros Batistatos, Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO, said the potential for tourism growth in the area rests primarily on roadway expansion.

"The vast majority of the tourists we get in the area now are 'drive-ins,' " Batistatos said. "We need to look at expanding mass transit as well, but we cannot approach this as an either-or proposition."

But like Daniels, area legislators said those speaking against Illiana have made a compelling case that they speak for the majority.

"I think if business leaders want to advance their position, they need to make a public case," said Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. "Ultimately, they need support not just from the majority, but from as vocal a majority as the opposition. They need to do some work in the community."

Dewey Pearman, a proponent of the Illiana as executive director of the Construction Advancement Foundation of the Calumet Area, said proceeding with a full feasibility study of the project is the only way to address residents' concerns.

"Right now, people are raising questions that the legislators can't answer," Pearman said. "It's fair that they raise these concerns. A full study is the only way to answer them."

Indiana's portion of such a study could reach $2 million, according to Rep. Robert Kuzman, D-Crown Point. He said Illinois would pay in, as well as the federal government.

"We want to make sure legislators have met face to face with representatives of the business community to understand there is probably much more support up in the northern tier than has been put out by the newspapers," said spokesman Jim Zaleski of the 'Advocacy Group for Continuing the Feasibility Study of the Illiana Project.' "The only people banging the drum have been the opposition and we want to show there is some support to continue studying a project that is this important to Northwest Indiana," he said.

Talk of giving the governor authority to move ahead with giving a company a contract to build the Illiana, however, has quieted among area Republicans.

Even giving Daniels authority to execute a public-private partnership agreement for the I-57 to I-65 leg, which the governor said he supports, seems a hard sell among legislators now.

Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, thinks support is strong for the western portion of the project, but said residents and lawmakers need to know the exact route before the project moves forward.

"It's going to be very important that we get a study of where the road would go," Lehe said. "There's a lot of emotion involved now with people unsure of the route."

Lehe said that study needs legislative approval sooner rather than later.

"With the way development is taking off in the south of Lake County, if we don't proceed now, development will just push the road farther and farther south," Lehe said. "And the farther the road gets from the Borman, the less effective it will be in reducing congestion on the Borman."

John Janik, who heads Merrillville's Chamber of Commerce, said it's the only logical step the legislature should take.

"This is a normal process that any business entity would go through to determine go or no go," he said. "You can't make intelligent decisions without factual information."

Correspondent Jamie Ward contributed to this report.