Times of Northwest Indiana
With Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels proposing an outer ring connecting Interstate 69 with I-70 south and east of Indianapolis, the drumbeats for the Illiana Expressway need to be much louder.
Indianapolis already has an expressway encircling it. This new road is intended to connect six counties to a road intended to boost development in the collar counties. It is not hard to imagine a future extension to complete the circle when need arises.
The Indiana Commerce Connector, as Daniels has dubbed it, is needed to create jobs. Daniels cited statistics showing nine of the top 10 new investments supported by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. in the last two years fall within 10 miles of an interstate highway.
Of course, building a new highway is expensive. So Daniels is proposing to build this road as a public-private partnership. The state would own the new tollway, but it would be leased to a private operator, just like the Indiana Toll Road.
That connector road would be 75 to 80 miles long. The first phase of the Illiana Expressway would be just 14 miles, connecting Interstates 57 and 65, although extending it to connect with the Indiana Toll Road near LaPorte would add another 50 miles or so.
"The concept is exactly what we want to do with the Illiana Expressway to relieve traffic," said state Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake. Landske chairs the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee.
"Just as they're concerned about relieving traffic (around Indianapolis), we can accomplish the same thing with our Illiana Expressway and relieve traffic on I-80/94," she said.
Daniels has said the Illiana Expressway is a perfect candidate for a public-private partnership. A private firm likely would build and operate the tollway, and the state would own it.
The Illiana Expressway was first proposed a century ago by Chicago's visionary architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham. It's needed now. Yet it remains a dream.
Now is the time to make that dream a reality.
Daniels often visits Northwest Indiana. For his next visit, here's a suggested agenda item: Announce a plan to finally build the Illiana Expressway and put the process in high gear.