Local and state leaders gathered Tuesday to build momentum for a rebuild of the headache highway.
State and local leaders from the western suburbs called for money from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed Congress over the weekend to be used to rebuild a 13-mile segment of the Eisenhower Expressway.
As if for effect, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch showed up late to a news conference Tuesday morning that was held adjacent to the expressway and blamed his tardiness on the congested Eisenhower.
“I apologize for being late, but I live in Hillside and I got stopped by the Hillside strangler,” he said, referring to a chokepoint on the expressway that runs through his hometown.
The proposed $2.6 billion project would rebuild the Eisenhower from Racine Avenue in Chicago to Wolf Road in west suburban Hillside.
It would create 22,000 jobs, each paying on average $80,000 a year, and reduce travel times by 25% to 56%, according to Mary Tyler, a transportation researcher with the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization that provides analysis on highway projects.
The organization released a report on the proposed project Tuesday.
“Overall this project is creating a modern transportation corridor, it’s not just a highway project that’s focusing on road and bridge improvements, it also includes pedestrian and transit access, adds express bus opportunities and promotes carpooling,” she said.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, who is from Oak Park, called Congress’s passage of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill over the weekend, which is awaiting a signature from President Joe Biden, a “tremendous step forward” for the Eisenhower project.
The Eisenhower is one of the most congested highways in the country, he said.
The new infrastructure bill will pour an astounding $17 billion into Illinois for projects with the prospects of billions more from competitive grants.
“We stand united here today in calling others to join in making this project a priority. This becomes a reality if and only if federal transportation officials join with state and local leaders in providing resources,” Harmon said.
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said Chicago’s economy depends on infrastructure.
“It’s the underpinning of good-paying working-class jobs here in Chicago,” he said. “If anybody’s got a backhoe or a grinder, I’ll run out there right now and grab a couple of apprentices and we’ll get to work. ... Let’s do it now, let’s do it quickly, let’s send the money here to Chicago.”
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