Council Finalizes Route 53/120 Corridor Report

The Illinois Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Friday completed nine months of discussion and deliberation with the approval of a final report recommending the Illinois Tollway move forward with an Illinois Route 53/120 Corridor project in Lake County. The group includes local elected officials, transportation and planning agencies and a diverse group of environmental, civic, business and labor representatives.

The report will be presented to the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors in June.   Co-chaired by David Stolman, Lake County Board chairman, and George Ranney, President and CEO of Metropolis Strategies, the Advisory Council’s work has focused on answering three primary questions: Is there consensus to move forward? What are the scope, configuration and design elements of a new roadway? And, how should the project be financed?  

Council members adopted a resolution at the final council meeting acknowledging the necessity to build a 21st Century roadway in Lake County to serve the needs of residents and businesses. While the resolution and report are a significant step forward, the Advisory Council’s approval and continued support is contingent upon adhering to the design principles, alignments and environmental commitments outlined in the report.   

“We are confident that the recommendations presented in this report reflect the will of the diverse group of members that the Illinois Tollway brought together to finally help reach consensus on this project,” Stolman said. “We have made great strides through an open, transparent process that included tremendous public participation along the way.”  

“This is a significant step forward in road building,” Ranney said. “We have come together to outline a project that protects environmental concerns while creating a ‘modern parkway’ envisioned for the region.”  

In its final report, the Advisory Council agrees:

• The Illinois Route 53/120 Corridor project should move forward according to the Advisory Council’s requirements.
• The new Illinois Route 53 should be a four-lane, limited access, tolled parkway with a 45 mph maximum operating speed. It also proposes alignment options for configuration of Illinois Route 120 that should move forward for further study.
• The project should be funded through the use of tolling, as well as the use of local revenue sources and other options, to be developed in coordination with local governments. Those options could include adjusting tolls on the north Tri-State Tollway (I-94) and tolling the existing Illinois Route 53 from Lake Cook Road to the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90).

The Advisory Council’s report outlines five key recommendations for the best way to move forward with an Illinois Route 53/120 Corridor project. These recommendations align with the group’s guiding principles, as well as scope, configuration and design elements agreed upon by the Advisory Council.   

Key recommendations include:

• Create a transportation system that preserves the environment and nearby communities and enhances connectivity
• Design a context sensitive roadway
• Respect and preserve the land
• Establish an innovative funding plan for an innovative roadway
• Create a corridor plan and implementation strategy

On June 30, 2011, the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors announced the creation of the Advisory Council to develop regional consensus on whether to move forward with the project, the scope and configuration, the design and elements, and how it should be financed. The Tollway looked to the Advisory Council to recommend a series of best practices for an integrated, multi-modal, 21st Century corridor that is financially viable, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.  

The concept of the extension of Illinois Route 53/120 has support from local governments, transportation agencies and the general public. Lake County and 12 villages and city councils have passed resolutions of support and the project is included in Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s (CMAP) GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan. Additionally, in a 2009 county-wide referendum, 75 percent of voters favored extending Illinois Route 53.

— Submitted by the Illinois Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council