New tollway promises major changes

Frank D'Ambrosio will have one less reason to be late to work Monday morning when state officials open the new Veterans Memorial Tollway.

The Lockport resident will no longer have to snake through portions of Will County in his daily commute to his real estate office in Bolingbrook.

Right now, rush-hour stop-and-go traffic can leave him fighting to get to work for up to 45 minutes.

But after Monday?

"I could see 20 minutes cut off my time," said D'Ambrosio, a retired Cicero cop who has spent much of his second career selling homes in Will to some of his old colleagues.

"Real estate in this area is really going to boom because of this new access," he said.

It's taken decades of talks, plans and politics to launch the 12.5-mile expansion of I-355 into the Southwest suburbs, but it's finally here.

The $730 million slab of concrete, which runs from I-80 in New Lenox north to I-55 in Bolingbrook is set to open Monday to 54,000 daily commuters.

"If you think about the system as a whole, it's connecting neighbors with neighbors," Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Director Brian McPartlin said.

Tollway officials said the extension is expected to cut motorists' commute times by 20 percent and is sure to expand the pace of development along the thoroughfare.

Tollway origins

Extending I-355 was first discussed in the 1960s as a way to give commuters an alternative to taking side roads and sitting in traffic.

In 1993, state lawmakers directed tollway officials to do a preliminary construction study.

The project hit a snag in 1996 when a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club claimed an environmental study was incomplete. And funding didn't come until 2003, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich came up with a plan to double 40-cent tolls for drivers who pay cash.

As a result, the first earth work on the new roadway didn't began until 2004.

While tollway authorities said construction of I-355's south extension was completed on time and within budget, the roadway did pose some unique challenges for planners.

The cornerstone of the Veterans Memorial Tollway is a 1.3-mile, six-lane concrete bridge where DuPage, Will and Cook counties converge near Lemont. The area that lies underneath is home to the Hine's emerald dragonfly, a federally protected endangered species.

So as to not disrupt its flight pattern, the bridge rises as high as 90 feet above ground as it spans the Des Plaines River, two canals, railroad tracks, an industrial area and a forest preserve.

The other major hurdle involved building the I-55 interchange in Bolingbrook, a project that had a portion of construction taking place over open lanes of traffic.

"Unlike the Dan Ryan Expressway, which shuts down to one lane during construction, the tollway's policy is to maintain the same number of lanes during construction," spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said.

Economic benefits

Municipal officials dotting the span of the new toll road expect the extension will significantly affect both commercial and residential development in fast-growing Will County.

"We have some residents who work in the South suburbs who will have a journey that's going to be considerably expedited," Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said.

Based on existing trends, the state's fourth-largest county is expected to nearly double its population to 1.1 million people by 2030.

New Lenox is expected to see the biggest growth. The population is expected to grow from 23,000 to more than 90,000 by 2030.

Two proposed malls totaling 2.5 million square feet are to be built in the town, providing the community with a strong economic shot in the arm.

And officials from other towns are hoping to see similar growth.

For instance, Claar said the new road is expected to increase retail growth near the Promenade Bolingbrook shopping center and provide Will County residents with an easier commute to the new Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, which is expected to open in December.

In neighboring Woodridge, Mayor William Murphy said the road will provide another major thoroughfare for companies in the town's business park.

"We're very excited about the opening," Murphy said. "We've seen much the benefits of the North-South Tollway and the new extension will only help."

Festivities at a glance

Several events are planned Sunday to celebrate the opening of the Veterans Memorial Tollway.

9 a.m. Chicagoland Bicycle Federation to host Roll the Tollway 20-mile bike ride at the 127th Street interchange in Lemont.

10 a.m. Lemont, Lockport, Homer Glen and New Lenox host festivals near the interchanges of the respective communities.

11:30 a.m. Veterans Memorial Tollway 5k Run/Walk/Roll begins at the 127th Street interchange in Lemont.

1 p.m. Dedication ceremonies at interchanges at 127th Street in Lemont, 159th Street near Homer Glen and Route 6 in New Lenox.