Editorial: Devil will be Central Tri-State Tollway rebuild details

This editorial has been corrected from what was originally published to say the project would end in 2025, and the Move Illinois program cost $12 billion.

It's hard to dispute the need to reduce congestion on the Central Tri-State Tollway.

When it comes to painfully frustrating congestion - the kind that builds early, ends late and sucks time and patience from hundreds of thousands of drivers - this stretch of I-294 between 95th Street in the South suburbs and Balmoral Avenue near Rosemont is legendary.

So, when the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board meets today to vote on whether to expand a planned $1.9 billion reconstruction into an estimated $4 billion rebuild that would add a fifth lane and a Flex lane in each direction, new interchanges, and other improvements, there likely will be plenty of cheering from gridlock-weary drivers.

But there will be significant pain between the time tollway officials start negotiating details of the 22-mile footprint and when the last barrier is removed sometime in 2025 - construction pain from lane closures, possible financial pain and inconvenience for drivers who may no longer be able to share transponders, and eminent domain pain if homeowners and towns along the route lose houses and land so new lanes can be built.

Tollway officials say this project on which they've placed a $2.1 billion price tag is a "concept" and no hard details are available. OK. All progress begins with an idea. But we can't stress enough the importance for tollway officials to move quickly to replace the current vagueness with the specifics of a real plan.

That will pave the way for what in some cases will be difficult conversations with local leaders and others regarding quality of life issues - added air pollution, traffic noise and land loss caused by expanding capacity - and how to resolve and mitigate them. Transparency and communication will be key.

We also call on tollway officials to be frugal. Funding comes from the $12 billion Move Illinois program put in place six years ago. It will provide enough money so that no new toll increases will be needed to pay for the work, tollway officials say.

Hammering out project details should include an honest evaluation about what's a must-have and whether some money could be better spent elsewhere in the 292-mile tollway system.

There's no denying change is needed to resolve the chronic gridlock on the Central Tri-State Tollway. What's not to like about boosting speeds from 24 mph to 45 mph on average during rush hour? More reliable travel will help freight and pull vehicles off local arterial roads, tollway officials say.

It's a project built to benefit commuting, but tollway officials must be mindful of collateral damage on those living nearby and conscientious management of the financial resources the motoring public is surrendering to them.