MPC was appointed to the I-90 Corridor Planning Council, which will determine how to reduce congestion on one of Chicago's busiest transportation routes, I-90.
MPC is pleased to announce our appointment to the I-90 Corridor Planning Council, which will determine how to reduce congestion on one of Chicago's busiest transportation routes, the I-90 Corridor from Chicago to Rockford, including the Kennedy Expressway and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. The I-90 Corridor Planning Council will be chaired by the Illinois Tollway.
According to the Tollway, commercial truck traffic and passenger vehicle travel on I-90 has grown rapidly with more than 308,000 vehicles traveling daily on the Tollway’s portion alone in 2009 – more than four times the number of vehicles that used the road in 1970. Together, the Tollway, IDOT, and Chicago Transit Authority’s portions of the I-90 Corridor serve nearly one million travelers per day. The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway portion of the I-90 corridor hasn’t been rebuilt since 1958 and is nearing the end of its useful life.
The I-90 Corridor Planning Council will assess how to combine the reconstruction of I-90 with plans to reduce congestion and increase environmentally sound transportation options including congestion pricing and transit. Adding a new managed lane with the reconstruction would help reduce overall travel times and improve mobility and reliability. MPC studied the benefits of adding a managed lane on I-90 and found travel times could be significantly reduced, by as much as 48 minutes, if congestion pricing were implemented. The Tollway also will partner with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to study ways to accommodate a new express bus system. MPC maintains that managed lanes must be implemented in conjunction with transit enhancements.
Analysis presented to the Tollway Board last December indicates that addressing the needs of I-90 sooner rather than later will produce a greater return on investment. In fact, accelerating the work on I-90 to 2015 saves $200 million. Acceleration of work to next year would save $400 million.
Estimated costs to reconstruct and widen the remaining original portion of I-90 between I-39 and the Kennedy Expressway range from $1.9 billion to $4.5 billion depending on timing and the possible inclusion of managed lanes and transit.
The Council will present its findings this fall.
I-90 Corridor Planning Council
Boone County Board
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Chicago Transit Authority
Cook County Board
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Dept. of Transportation
Illinois Tollway
Kane County Board
McHenry County Board
Metra
Metropolitan Planning Council
Northwest Council of Mayors
Openlands
Pace
Regional Transportation Authority
Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Winnebago County Board
Legislative representatives