Pace, Tollway deal would ramp up service along I-90

Commuters along the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) corridor seeking to escape high gas prices and bumper-to-bumper traffic will have some transit options in the wake of an agreement between Pace and the Illinois tollway.

The pact, expected to be finalized by the tollway board next week, allows three new "park-n-rides" along the Jane Addams at Barrington Road, Route 25 and Randall Road with access roads for express buses.

The parking lots will let suburbanites hook up with buses destined for the Schaumburg/Northwest Transportation Center or the Rosemont CTA station, which is also a Pace hub.

The plan also coincides with the tollway widening on I-90 and Pace expecting to add more express buses on the Jane Addams. A tollway committee approved the intergovernmental agreement Wednesday.

"This is a very big, very ambitious plan," Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said. "There's a lot of up side for commuters here."

Express bus expansions on I-90 planned for 2016 include Routes 604 and 605, which would travel between Elgin and the Rosemont CTA station with stops at the new park-n-rides.

"The (I-90) corridor not only employs a lot of people but also a lot of people live in the corridor," Wilmot said. "We expect a significant market for travel going in both directions. It's not purely designed to bring people in the suburbs to the city or vice versa."

For 2016, Pace also is considering two routes that would use Route 53 to take people to the Woodfield Mall area. Route 604 would travel between Palatine and Schaumburg, and Route 608 would connect Addison and Schaumburg.

In addition, Pace plans to start three "Call-n-Ride" routes serving the Barrington Road area, north Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. The Call-n-Ride program offers on-demand service to businesses, residences, or anywhere else within a specified zone and provides connections to other transit.