Times of Northwest Indiana Staff Report
Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to formally announce today that Indiana and Illinois will study construction of the Illiana Expressway.
Daniels is expected to discuss a "memorandum of understanding" between the states that will have Indiana take the lead on an initial corridor planning study for the route. The memorandum between the states was signed in November.
A source familiar with the Illiana plans also said legislation soon could be pending in the General Assembly to define a route for the east-west expressway that would link Interstate 57 in Illinois with Interstate 65, the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 94 in Michigan City.
The potential road long has been viewed as a congestion-relief valve for the Borman Expressway and other crowded region thoroughfares.
For years, transportation planners have spoken of a south Lake County expressway connecting Interstate 57 in Illinois with Interstate 65 in Indiana. But a lack of a designated right of way for such a road has had transportation planners lamenting that development in south Lake County soon could make such a passage impossible.
A map provided to The Times on Monday shows a proposed route heading east from Interstate 57 through Will County in Illinois, running between Cedar Lake and Lowell, then crossing Interstate 65 and curving northward through Porter and LaPorte counties to Interstate 94 at Michigan City.
Already, a portion of the expressway exists in the form of Interstate 355 that begins at Schaumburg northwest of Chicago with an extension under construction to link to Interstate 80 near Joliet. Illinois plans to extend the route to I-57 and is joining Indiana in planning the leg that crosses the state line to link to I-65.
Daniels is expected to address the Hammond Rotary Club today regarding the expressway, sources said Monday.
The issue of whether the Illiana Expressway will be a state road or built as a public-private partnership most likely will be decided after the initial studies are completed, sources close to the planning said.
It is expected that "corridor legislation" allowing Indiana to designate and lock in the route of the Illiana Expressway within Indiana will be introduced to the Indiana General Assembly in its 2007 session.
State Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, said she was not aware of such a legislative effort, but the veteran lawmaker has been working to promote the Illiana Expressway.
Landske said she had lunch last week with state Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning. And the senator arranged for Cedar Lake town officials to discuss the road with Browning on Wednesday.
Daniels announced in November a proposal to build a tollway around the eastern edge of Indianapolis to link existing Interstate 69 to an extension of that route southwest of the city.