Express bus option drives up costs of Jane Addams redevelopment

A rebuilt Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) with bus rapid transit won't come cheaply, a report concludes. And that cost could be paid by introducing “congestion priced/managed” lanes that will be more expensive to drive on.

Members of a group charged with finding a way to incorporate transit into a redeveloped I-90 gave their recommendations to Illinois State Toll Highway Authority directors Thursday. Directors did not take any action on the I-90 Corridor Planning Council report but will continue to study it.

Among the suggestions are creating congestion priced/managed lanes on I-90 from Elgin to the Kennedy Expressway. The concept involves an express lane that would be priced higher from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for passenger vehicles. The lanes could also be used for bus rapid transit.

Originally, transportation planners had hoped to build a commuter rail service, dubbed the STAR Line running east-west along I-90 from Rosemont to Prairie Stone, then connecting with the EJ&E Railway to run north-south to Joliet. But a lack of federal and state financing has put that project on the shelf indefinitely.

In the short term, the report envisions express buses traveling between stations that are close to job centers along the Jane Addams. The key will be placing stops at locations that commuters will find convenient and close to employers.

Although Pace has had a successful pilot program running express buses between the southwest suburbs and the Loop on the Stevenson Expressway, it's a new idea for I-90 and comes with challenges, officials said.

“We want to make sure there's a market there because these are major investments,” tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said.

So far, planners have not pinpointed any specific locations for the bus rapid transit stations.

The council also recommended that the managed lanes be continued onto the Kennedy Expressway.

The tollway had allocated $240 million for transit in its $2.2 billion budget for reconstructing the Jane Addams. The council found costs would exceed that by millions with right of way acquisition coming in at $207 million, $25 million for a park and ride station, and $50 million for interchanges, among other items.

The I-90 Corridor Planning Council included representatives from Pace, the CTA, Metra, the Illinois Department of Transportation, plus officials from Kane, McHenry and Cook counties.