Brothers and Sisters,
Anyone who has sat in traffic on I-294 during construction has seen the cones, lane shifts, cranes, and heavy equipment. For some drivers, it may look like an inconvenience. For Local 150 members, it looks like work: paychecks, apprentices learning the trade, experienced operating engineers putting their skills to use, and a region investing in the roads and bridges that keep people and goods moving.
That is where Driving Connections comes in. The Illinois Tollway’s next proposed capital program would invest $26.5 billion over 15 years, from 2027 through 2042, to improve the Tollway system across northern Illinois. For our members, this is about steady work, safer travel, economic growth, and making sure skilled operating engineers continue to help build the future of this region.
July is going to be busy for Local 150 members, and not just because of the work on the books. We need you to show up, and we need you to submit public comment. The Tollway is holding public hearings and taking comments on Driving Connections, and this is one of those moments when being in the room and putting your support in writing both matter. Decision makers need to hear directly from the people who build and maintain the infrastructure everyone depends on.
Driving Connections is focused on improving traffic flow, road conditions, access, reliability, and economic growth throughout the 12-county region served by the Tollway. It would build on earlier programs like Move Illinois and Bridging the Future, while keeping the system safe, modern, and ready for what comes next.
The program would be funded through toll revenues and revenue bonds. The proposal includes a passenger toll increase of about 45 cents per toll for I-PASS users beginning January 1, 2027, along with a 30 percent increase for commercial vehicles. The Tollway is also proposing inflation-based adjustments every other year beginning in 2029.
Those numbers will get attention, and some will reduce the whole discussion to toll costs. But the Tollway is a user-funded system that does not rely solely on state or federal tax dollars for construction, maintenance, and operations. Roads, bridges, interchanges, safety improvements, and technology upgrades all have to be paid for somehow. If the region does not invest now, it pays later through rougher roads, worse congestion, longer commutes, delayed freight, and bigger repair bills.
Local 150 members have already seen what a long-term Tollway program can do. In 2011, the Tollway launched the 15-year, $15 billion Move Illinois Program, one of the largest transportation improvement efforts in state history. It was built around a simple idea: rebuild aging infrastructure, expand capacity where it is needed, improve safety, and invest in the major transportation corridors that keep northern Illinois moving.
Today, more than 90 percent of the Move Illinois budget has been committed, more than 83 percent of the scheduled work has been completed, and more than 146,000 jobs have been created or sustained. Those are not just numbers in a report. They are paychecks, health care, pensions, apprenticeship opportunities, contractor work, equipment hours, and economic activity in the communities where our members live and work.
Infrastructure investment can sound abstract when politicians or agencies talk about it. Our members see what it means on the ground. They operate the equipment, move the material, build the bridges, prepare the roadways, and turn a plan on paper into a road on which people can actually drive.
Local 150 has always been in this fight. We have been out front for safer roads, stronger bridges, and protecting the money needed to build and maintain them. That is why our union fought for the “Safe Roads Amendment,” which voters approved in 2016 to make sure transportation funds are used for transportation, not swept away for something else. If drivers are paying into the system, that money should go back into the roads, bridges, and infrastructure they use every day.
One of the clearest examples is the reconstruction and modernization of the Tri-State Tollway, I-294, one of the most important passenger and freight corridors in the Midwest. For decades, I-294 has connected communities, supported businesses, moved goods, and carried heavy traffic through the Chicago area. Rebuilding that corridor has been a massive undertaking, and Local 150 members have helped keep it moving.
The Tollway has invested billions of dollars into reconstructing roadway segments, replacing bridges, improving interchanges, adding capacity, and modernizing infrastructure along I-294. Those improvements have enhanced safety, reduced congestion, improved freight mobility, and strengthened connections between communities throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Major investments in I-294 continue today and remain a central part of the Tollway’s capital program.
Projects like the Central Tri-State show why long-term funding matters. You cannot rebuild a major corridor with stop-and-start planning. Contractors need to know work is coming, apprentices need opportunities to learn, experienced members need steady work, and equipment has to be purchased, maintained, and scheduled.
The same is true for the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project, including construction of the new I-490 Tollway. For decades, O’Hare International Airport lacked direct western access. That gap put pressure on nearby roads, limited regional mobility, and held back opportunities for growth in surrounding communities.
The I-490 work is creating new transportation connections to the airport while improving regional freight movement and reducing congestion on local roadways. It also supports economic development throughout Chicago’s western suburbs by improving access to one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world. The Tollway continues to identify the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project as one of its most significant ongoing investments.
The transformation of the Elgin O’Hare Expressway into Interstate 390 is another example of Tollway investment that keeps paying off. I-390 created an important east-west connection linking residential communities, businesses, distribution facilities, and major transportation routes. Today, it serves as a critical connector within the broader O’Hare access network and supports economic activity throughout the northwest suburbs.
The Veterans Memorial Tollway, I-355, tells the same story over a longer period of time. Since its construction and expansion, I-355 has become one of the most important north-south corridors in northeastern Illinois, connecting I-80, I-88, I-55, and numerous suburban communities. It has supported residential, commercial, and industrial development throughout DuPage, Will, and Cook counties while improving freight movement and regional travel.
Looking ahead, one of the region’s most important transportation opportunities involves improvements to the I-290 Eisenhower Expressway and CTA Blue Line Corridor. Industry leaders, transportation agencies, and project stakeholders have been advancing plans for a major reconstruction effort estimated at approximately $4.6 billion. The project would address aging infrastructure, including numerous bridges that have been identified as functionally obsolete, while also improving one of Chicago’s busiest transportation corridors.
Plans under discussion for the I-290 and Blue Line Corridor have included reconstruction of portions of the Eisenhower Expressway, modernization of Blue Line stations and track infrastructure, and improvements designed to enhance mobility for drivers, transit riders, workers, and businesses. Federal funding has already been secured to advance planning and continue project development. For Local 150 members and the broader construction industry, projects like I-290 represent the next generation of transformational infrastructure work.
Taken together, the success of Move Illinois, the reconstruction of I-294, construction of I-490, improvements to I-390, the long-term impact of I-355, and future opportunities like the I-290 and Blue Line corridor all point to the same conclusion: infrastructure investment works. It creates jobs, improves safety, strengthens freight movement, supports economic growth, enhances regional mobility, and improves quality of life for communities throughout Illinois.
That proven record is why public comments matter now. Driving Connections is a chance to build on what has already worked and keep investing in the transportation network that keeps Illinois moving. Hearings and written comments create the record decision-makers review before taking final action. If the only voices they hear are opposed to the program, the value of the work can get lost in a narrow debate over toll rates.
Local 150 members can tell the fuller story. These projects mean safe jobs, apprentices learning from experienced operators, contractors bidding work, suppliers moving materials, and communities getting safer and more reliable roads.
There will be criticism of the toll increase. But the cost of doing nothing belongs in the discussion too. Bad roads, outdated bridges, congestion, and unreliable travel times cost drivers in fuel, repairs, and time; cost businesses through delays and inefficiency; and cost communities when investment goes elsewhere.
On page three of this paper, you will find the dates, times, and locations of the public hearings. We need you there. You will also find a QR code with program details and instructions for submitting your comment. Take a few minutes, scan the code, and make sure your voice is part of the record. A member comment does not need to be long. It just needs to be real.
Members, we need your support for the Driving Connections Capital Program. Show up, submit a public comment, and encourage others to do the same. When Local 150 speaks up together, decision-makers hear from the people who do the work, know the roads, and understand exactly why long-term infrastructure investment matters.
United We Stand. Divided We Fall.