8 possible routes picked for highway near Chicago

HOBART, Ind. — A task force has come up with eight possible routes for a proposed highway linking Interstate 65 in northwestern Indiana and Interstate 55 in Illinois south of Chicago.

The Illiana Expressway routes presented during a public meeting Tuesday in Hobart head west from I-65 at points from just south of U.S. 30 in Merrillville to near the Kankakee River. The routes reach I-55 south of Joliet.

The Times reports a consultant on the project presented estimates of large increases in population and traffic in the area during the coming decades.

But Lake County commissioner Gerry Scheub tells the Post-Tribune the highway would give little benefit to Indiana while boosting the proposed airport near Peotone, Ill.

The task force expects to narrow the list of possible routes in December.