Illiana Expressway hearing slated for Feb. 18 in Lowell

A detailed study of the ramifications of the proposed 47-mile Illiana Expressway is available for public review and local residents may attend a hearing from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 18 at Lowell High School. The meeting is hosted by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The study includes proposed tolling specifics, environmental wetlands and wildlife information, employment and population projections and a draft of the purpose and need for the bi-state highway, which will be privately operated as a toll road.

Another public hearing will be held in Illinois the next day. That meeting is set for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 19 at Local 150 Training Facilities, 19800 W. Arsenal Road, Wilmington, Ill.

The comment period on the environmental impact study runs through March 10. The Illiana tollway would run east and west from Wilmington, Ill., to Interstate 65, near Lowell.

Land acquisition specialists will be available to answer questions about right-of-way acquisition and residence relocation.

Attendees may provide oral or written testimony to court reporters that will be included in the public record. INDOT and study team representatives will also be available on a one-on-one basis.

Using tolls is seen as the only “viable” method to build the road, according to the study; the level of revenues would depend on traffic volumes and tolling pricing and other factors.

The study estimates a base cost for a car at 23 cents a mile and a trucks at 53 cents.

Illiana has cleared major hurdles in both states and needs federal approval of the environmental impact study to move forward.

INDOT officials say the highway should be completed by 2018.