This morning, the Illinois Tollway’s Board of Directors voted by an 8-0 margin to award a $25 million contract to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Route 53/120 expansion project.
An EIS is the next step forward in the process of making this project, discussed for more than a half decade, forward. The process will examine several potential routes, as well as a “no-build option”, and identify the preferred option. The study should take between 2-3 years to complete.
The project concept includes construction of 12 miles of brand new parkway to extend Route 53, as well as the modernization of another 12.5 miles of Route 120, which would connect Route 12 to Interstate 94.
“This project has been a dream for too long,” said Local 150 President-Business James M. Sweeney. “It is time to make it a reality for the drivers who sit in traffic every day and the businesses who struggle to get their goods to market. This project will invigorate the economy, enhance safety on the road, and create thousands of good-paying jobs for local workers.”