Barack Obama

Officials need to fix I-55 now

Sunday, July 24, 2005

JOLIET HERALD NEWS

Tune in to any local traffic report on your way to or from work, and you surely will hear, "I-55 slows at Weber," "Stevenson tight beginning at Weber Road," or "back-ups between Lockport and Weber Road."

No one can deny that I-55 at Weber Road tops the list of the Chicago region's biggest traffic nightmares.

It's not difficult to figure out why. It's not accidents, flat tires, or gapers' block.

It's three lanes merging to two. It's the fastest growing area in the state. It's a vital interstate traffic artery. And it has to change, now.

Gov. Blagojevich has the best opportunity he will ever have to fix Will County's version of the "Hillside Strangler." But he may miss that chance if he doesn't act soon.

Congress and the President are on the brink of enacting the so-called TEA-LU legislation, a six-year transportation funding bill. It's important, because it returns to the states the money all of us pay in federal gas taxes every time we fill up at the pump.

The bill has been held up for nearly four years as the U.S. House, Senate and the President fight over the final price tag and the formula for distributing funds to states. After missing three construction seasons, and the chance to create jobs and alleviate countless wasted hours in traffic tie-ups, a compromise is now at hand, with a total price tag in the neighborhood of $285 billion for all 50 states.

While Congress determines the formula for how much funding each state will receive, it's the states' governors who decide how the federal funds are spent. States contribute 20 percent, and the federal formula funds pay the remaining 80 percent for each transportation project.

So for 20 cents on the dollar, Governor Blagojevich could make the I-55 expansion from Weber Road to I-80 a reality. All he needs to do is put the project on his list of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) priority projects, signaling that he will move forward with the project during the TEA-LU funding period. Members of the Illinois General Assembly, county and local officials, U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, and I, and many others have asked him to do so. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Public Works Committee, also has indicated his willingness to help.

The time for Governor Blagojevich to reconsider the importance of I-55 is now.

Congress is about to provide additional funding for Illinois -- about $1.6 billion more over the life of TEA-LU. This is almost 30 percent more than the $1 billion Illinois has received annually in the past. With a total project cost of $459 million, the state's I-55 burden would be $92 million, and the remainder could be funded with just 5.6 percent of Illinois' share of TEA-LU funds.

Isn't breaking the Weber Road bottleneck and relieving I-55 congestion in the State's fastest-growing county worth just 5.6 percent of the billions of federal dollars Illinois will receive each year?

Placing a priority on I-55 also could help us to tap in to another category of funding in TEA-LU -- a fund that is set aside for projects of "regional and national significance." If expanding I-55 were given that designation, fewer funds would have to come out of Illinois' formula allocation. I've requested the "regional and national significance" designation, and I know it's a long shot, but it's virtually impossible to get a project on that list if your own governor has not made it a priority.

If the Governor doesn't use federal formula funding for I-55, the only way to access TEA-LU money to start construction now is through the small allocation set aside for individual member of Congress requests. Less than 4 percent of the total funding in TEA-LU is reserved for these projects, and most members use their allocations to help their towns and villages with small, local projects.

I have pledged to use a significant portion of my 13th Congressional District allocation -- at least $5.5 million -- to the I-55 project. While this sum doesn't come close to completing it, I am committed to seeing I-55 widened, even if we have to do it one mile at a time.

-U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, represents the northern part of Will County.