Illinois Greenlights Toll Bridge to Intermodal Facility
Illinois has given the green light to a new toll bridge linking Interstate 80 to the CenterPoint intermodal facility in Joliet and Elwood.
The Houbolt Road bridge agreement, announced July 11, is designed to alleviate traffic congestion on local roads and fuel continued growth for the booming truck and train transportation hub, officials said.
The public-private project will cost $170 million to $190 million, with CenterPoint building and operating the toll bridge over the Des Plaines River. The Illinois Department of Transportation is covering $21 million of that cost to widen Houbolt Road and reconfigure the existing interchange with I-80 to handle increased traffic demand.
Construction could begin next year, providing a direct route to the sprawling CenterPoint facility south of I-80 in late 2018 or early 2019, officials said. About 11,000 vehicles are expected to use the bridge initially, including more than 6,600 trucks. That traffic count is projected to essentially triple by 2040.
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"CenterPoint is building it, CenterPoint is going to run it," Gov. Bruce Rauner said at a news conference announcing the bridge project. "We'll talk about what joint decision-making there might be, but this is their $170 million."
Under the agreement, CenterPoint would be reimbursed for its investment through the toll proceeds.
The toll bridge transponder will be compatible with the Illinois Tollway system, with rates to be determined, according to state Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. "Under existing state statute, Will County sets the toll rates, so they will negotiate that with CenterPoint," he said.
Built on the site of the former Joliet Arsenal, the CenterPoint Intermodal Center opened in 2002 and has grown into one of the largest inland ports for trucks and trains in North America.
The arsenal was decommissioned in 1976, giving rise to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and the thriving transportation center, which has brought thousands of jobs and $75 billion in freight activity annually to the once-remote area.
While a boon to the Will County economy, it has been a burden to local roads and communities, with thousands of trucks rumbling daily down two indirect routes from I-80. The primary route is along I-55 south to Arsenal Road, but trucks coming from the east also use Illinois Highway 53, where the heavy volume of traffic has taxed roads and rattled residents, prompting stricter weight limit enforcement.
"Right now you've got 10,000 acres of development that for all intents and purposes are being served by one access point," said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development. "This will provide tremendous relief for truck traffic on I-55, on Route 53 and on I-80 itself."
Greuling said the transportation, warehousing and distribution sector represents about 10% of the county's employment base of 240,000 jobs. The CenterPoint facility itself is home to more than 10,000 jobs, Greuling said.
The toll bridge will help fuel additional logistics growth in and around CenterPoint, and across the county, Greuling said.
"This is something we have been hoping for a number of years," he said. "With the growth of the intermodal sector, we don't see this development slowing down. It's going to put more and more trucks on local and interstate roads, and this provides another front door to the intermodal center."
Oak Brook-based CenterPoint has developed intermodal centers in Virginia, Georgia, California and Missouri, in addition to Joliet.
