INSIDE
SPORTS Benet wins, sets up showdown with DGN
www.buglenewspapers.com
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NEWS Spring elections on the minds of local officials
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Our Village, Our News
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
Vol. 4 No. 49
Open Road Proposed IDOT officials consider express toll lanes on I-55 By Robin Ambrosia Staff Reporter
State transportation officials have proposed using shoulders along Interstate 55 between Interstate 355 and Interstate 90/94 to increase the flow of traffic during peak hours. “Currently, we have three lanes in each direction, so we are looking to maximize the use of the existing shoulder to add a fourth managed lane,” John Baczek, Illinois Department of Transportation Project and Environmental Studies Section Chief said at a recent open house. “Shoulders are wide enough for
buses already along certain portions, so let’s see if we can be creative using what we have while realizing we don’t have a lot of money.” Implementation of a managed lane along I-55 between I-355 and I-90/94 would convert the existing shoulder lane in both directions to be an express toll lane, a high-occupancy vehicles lane or a combined high occupancy toll lane. The proposed project is in phase one of a three-phase process.This phase includes collecting and analyzing data, including traffic, safety, population, employment See EXPRESS, page 4