R-67-04 09/27/2004RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING
I -355 EXTENSION
Whereas, almost 40 years ago, the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS)
and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) identified a north -south link
to Will County as vital to the Chicago area transportation system; and
Whereas, planning for the south extension of 1 -355 that began in the early 1960s
has continued intermittently for more than 30 years now; and
Whereas, the I -355 extension is a 12.5 mile, multi -lane, divided highway
extending from the southern end of I -355 at I -55 in Bolingbrook to Route 80, near New
Lenox; and
Whereas, planners called for construction of the I -355 south extension back in
1962, but it was not built due to lack of funding; and
Whereas, today, there is still no effective north -south highway to serve Will
County, one of the fastest - growing counties in Illinois, and the entire U.S.; and
Whereas, the extension would increase driver safety and decrease local
congestion by replacing two -lane road travel with a lighted, divided highway designed to
control the flow of traffic; and
Whereas, the comprehensive Environmental Impact Study concludes that the
extension is the preferred way to provide "a more efficient and better balanced
transportation system that addresses existing and projected transportation demands within
Will County and the region; and
Whereas, environmentally - sensitive areas have been avoided wherever possible;
and
Whereas, three separate wetlands projects will be created or enlarged as a result
of this project; and
Whereas, plans call for more than 16,500 trees and Illinois prairie grasses to be
planted along the right -of -way; and
Whereas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Will, Cook and DuPage
County Forest Preserve Districts have been particularly helpful in addressing
environmental concerns; and
Whereas, the I -355 extension will give people living in Will County easier access
to I -55 and all that the city of Chicago metropolitan area has to offer: jobs, universities,
entertainment, museums and the financial community; and
Whereas, Illinois tollways have provided effective, efficient modes of travel for
millions of people; and
Whereas, Illinois tollways have helped reduce congestion on expressways that
service the city and on local roads that service the suburbs; and
Whereas, congestion relief can contribute to improvements in air quality by
reducing travel delays, engine idle time and unproductive fuel consumption; and
Whereas, Illinois tollways created a means to help to pay for road improvements
and new highways; and
Whereas, Illinois tollways have followed the growth of our region, helping
Northeastern Illinois meet the transportation needs of its burgeoning population over the
past 50 years; and
Whereas, Illinois tollways are not inducing people to move to the collar counties.
The residents, the businesses, the jobs are already there, with more on the way in a very
short period of time; and
Whereas, the federal government blessed the environmental assessment and the
right -of -way is owned by the state and has been cleared of buildings and utilities;
Therefore be it resolved, that an extension of the Illinois Tollway I -355, from
Bolingbrook to New Lenox, is what the businesses and residents of Will, DuPage and
Southern Cook County need and deserve; and
Be it further resolved, that the President & Village Board of Trustees are highly
supportive of Governor Rod Blagojevich's Illinois Tollway's Long -Range Plan, "Open
Roads for a Faster Future", which will build the long - anticipated south extension of I-
355; and
Be it still further resolved, that the President & Village Board of Trustees urge
residents, businesses, and local civic organizations to support Governor Rod
Blagojevich's vision for the future of the Illinois Tollway, that consists of a 10 -year, $5.3
billion plan that will reduce traffic and congestion, rebuild and reconstruct the entire
Tollway system, add lanes to the system's major roads, make Illinois the first state in the
nation to convert to Open Road Tolling, build the long anticipated south extension of I-
355 and create 252,000 jobs.
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF
TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF LEMONT, COOK, WILL AND DU PAGE
COUNTIES ILLINOIS on this Day of , 2004
ABSENT
Debby Blatzer
Peter Coules
Brian Reaves
Steven Rosendahl
Ronald Stapleton
Jeanette Virgilio
Attest:
AYES NAYS PASSED
v
PIAZZ
Vill
IIARLENE SMOLLEN, Village Clerk
resident