Driver gain or wallet pain? Tollway hits the road to sell rate hike, capital plan at statewide hearings
Back-to-back hearings this week on the Illinois tollway’s proposed capital program and rate hike offered a full-court press from supporters in the construction industry tempered with skepticism from some drivers.
“This program is not only about roads and bridges, it is about creating reliable, family-supporting jobs (and) infrastructure that will serve Illinois for decades,” International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 member Jacob Enright said at a Lake County forum Monday.
Meanwhile, at a Schaumburg hearing Tuesday, resident David Meger noted that when the agency was created in 1953, construction bonds were issued with a promise they would be paid back in 20 years.
The intent was that “in 1973, the tollway system would become a freeway system and it would be maintained with gas tax revenues. That did not happen,” Meger said.
The tollway is holding hearings across the state to pitch a 15-year, $26.5 billion Driving Connections improvement plan funded by raising passenger vehicle tolls for I-PASS users from an average of 7 cents a mile to 11 cents, a roughly 57% spike effective in 2027.
Truckers would pay 30% more, and all users would see cost-of-living increases every two years starting in 2029 if approved.
Driving Connections includes more than $14.6 billion for toll road reconstruction and rehab, nearly $3.36 billion for interchange upgrades and about $880 million for widening.
“These investments deliver benefits far beyond individual projects,” Naperville engineer Bryan Hills said Tuesday. “They sustain a skilled workforce, improve mobility and support efficient movement of people and goods that drives our regional economy.”
The increase would average 45 cents a toll, meaning a commuter who drives on I-88 from Naperville to work downtown and back 50 weeks a year and today pays an average of $375 annually would be charged about $600 in 2027.
Multiple speakers belonged to labor unions or were affiliated with construction and engineering firms.
“Since the last toll adjustment in 2012, the cost of building and maintaining highways has increased between 75 and 85% — far outpacing general inflation,” Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association President Michael Sturino noted Monday.
“Following the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and unprecedented demand for infrastructure projects drove construction costs to historic levels.”
“It’s better to plan ahead than it is to fall behind,” Local 150 member Zach Gillengerten of Wadsworth said.
On Tuesday, however, Howard Pohl of Palatine contended tollway estimates of the cost for drivers didn’t reflect the extent of the hike.
“I’d like to commend your PR people who are managing to cloak the increase in tolls in ways that are truly very unrepresentative,” he said.
And, Liliana Florea of Chicago said that with millions of drivers on the system paying millions of dollars, “I believe that there’s plenty of money to fund a lot of these things” without raising prices.
In Lake County, resident Karen Thorstenson asked what the tollway was doing to reduce its operating costs “to be a cost-conscious provider as all agencies must do.”
Also, “each time tolls are increased, we see more vehicles taking the local roads to avoid the increased tolls,” said Thorstenson, a Gurnee trustee.
Terry Scherman of Waukegan was fully supportive of the change.
“I use the tollway a lot and I think it’s great,” he noted.
His wife, Janet, said after 27 years of driving home from work on the Tri-State Tollway she was only late once. “I can’t complain.”
Another hearing will be held Wednesday at the College of DuPage. For information about forums, go to agency.illinoistollway.com/drivingconnections#PublicHearings.