Tollway leaders: We're ready for Elgin-O'Hare toll angst
There may be angst when the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway/Route 390 converts into a tollway July 5, but Executive Director Greg Bedalov hopes at least the move won't catch drivers by surprise.
"Do we think it's going to be a heavy lift? Absolutely," said Bedalov in his first in-depth interview as tollway chief Thursday. "It's a brand-new way of tolling that the tollway's never used before, so there's going to be some consternation and some angst. We're doing everything we can to overcome that."
That means a communications campaign to inform drivers that tolls of 20 cents a mile will be collected on the expressway between Lake Street and I-290 effective July 5.
The agency is improving the existing expressway and extending it along Thorndale Avenue east to O'Hare.
It's part of a massive capital program inherited by Bedalov. The Downers Grove resident started in June after a turnover implemented by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who appoints tollway board members including Chairman Bob Schillerstrom.
One priority is customer service, both men said Thursday. To that end, tollway customers will receive a bonus this summer when the agency unrolls an updated website with one much sought-after feature - the ability to look up missed tolls using a license plate.
Currently, customers who missed a toll can pay online within seven days, but the system can't search by license plate. Instead, drivers need to remember what tolls they missed or look at the locations on a map, which can be time-consuming and complicated.
With the upgrade, "plug your license plate in and we'll tell you what tolls you missed and what you owe us," Bedalov said.
The Elgin-O'Hare Expressway project includes a ring road on the west side of O'Hare International Airport linking to Route 390, to the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) in Franklin Park and to the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) near Des Plaines.
Chicago and agency officials had been at odds over the cost of airport land for the ring road, with the city originally seeking about $190 million and the tollway requesting market value.
Schillerstrom, former DuPage County chairman, said negotiations were wrapping up amicably and an announcement is expected soon.
"We are talking with the city of Chicago, we are making progress with the city of Chicago. Now the city has picked up on the history of this project ... they've come to understand how important the project is," he said.