Tollway director extols 50 years of smooth driving
Illinois drivers were shocked 50 years ago by the new phenomenon of having to pay tolls, but such user-funded roadways are proving an efficient and effective transportation model in a growing number of states, the state tollway chief said Tuesday.
And the Illinois tollway system has become a leader in the industry, even as it continues to search for ways to improve itself, Executive Director Brian McPartlin says.
He spoke to members of the Schaumburg Business Association at their monthly breakfast meeting Tuesday.
By keeping its funding entirely separate from the now problem-plagued state and federal budgets, the tollway has been able to maintain an untroubled construction and maintenance schedule while finding ways of relieving congestion like Open Road Tolling, McPartlin said.
And whatever people feel about Gov. Rod Blagojevich, McPartlin attributes the strides the tollway has made in recent years to the governor's courage and political will in siding with it.
McPartlin said Blagojevich told tollway officials he'd back their capital plan as long as commuters would end up spending less time stuck on the road. This played a big part in the innovation of Open Road Tolling.
Even with this project complete, the agency is in the midst of major improvements to the Tri-State, Veterans Memorial, Jane Addams and Reagan Memorial tollways, which are expected to be finished in a little more than a year, McPartlin said.
He described these projects as a short-term pain leading to long-term gain, not only in smoother commutes but in the economic development opportunities that can spring from that.
While some are still bitter that the tollways didn't vanish after 25 years as originally promised, McPartlin said the full scope of urban sprawl couldn't possibly have been envisioned in 1958.
And while the daily number of vehicles on the system has leapt from 66,000 to 1.4 million in 50 years, a trip through the York Toll Plaza has increased from 30 cents to only 40 cents if paid with an I-PASS. Drivers without I-PASS's pay double, however.
"What else in the last 50 years has gone up only a dime?" McPartlin asked.
Still, the tollway has had more than its share of problems and criticisms recently. Among them are difficulties toll-enforcement cameras have had reading license plates, major flaws and delays in the notification process for violators and a computer system unable to help officials determine how many people are cheating on tolls or how much money is owed.
Members of the audience grilled McPartlin about particular areas of the tollway they thought were still problems, but one trouble spot he especially wanted to shed light on was the often congested merger with the eastbound Kennedy Expressway.
"It has taken me five and a half years, going on six, to convince the media that the tollway is not the bad guy," McPartlin said. "It's the Kennedy that's backed up into the tollway."
Communication is another area where the tollway is striving for better customer service, McPartlin said, both through delay notices on the roads as well as at illinoistollway.com and the info hotline, 1-800-TOLL-FYI.