State and local highway officials in Indiana and Illinois agreed Thursday night to create the Illiana Transportation Task Force to coordinate efforts to deal with increased traffic and worries about safety and accessible roads along the Illinois-Indiana border.
The agreement to form the task force came as members of the Eastern Will County Regional Council conducted their first bistate meeting with Indiana officials.
The bistate group is working toward a common transportation plan and cooperative planning relations to reduce traffic hazards in the border towns.
In February, council members hired Craig Hullinger, former executive director of the Will County Regional Planning Commission, to promote intergovernmental cooperation, develop alternative routes and develop a realignment-of-roadways proposal.
A team of planners, under Hullinger’s direction, is expected to complete the work by June 30. According to Hullinger, the two planners, Charles Eckenstahler and George Gray, both from Indiana, are familiar with Indiana legislation and policies.
Local and regional officials along the bistate corridor, including representatives of the Lake County Planning Commission in Indiana and the Indiana Department of Transportation, were among the participants at the meeting.
“The primary objective of this meeting is to open up dialogue between Illinois and Indiana and end up with a cohesive transportation plan,” Eckenstahler said. “We need to get the groundwork laid.”
The Borman Expressway, Indiana’s busiest highway, is often a nightmare for motorists heading into or out of Indiana. An $11.3 million dollar reconstruction project to resurface the 7-mile section from the Illinois state line to Burr Street is under way, and traffic has been stacked up for miles. Motorists are seeking alternative routes moving east and west.
“This has been a significant problem for everyone,” said Crete Township trustee Jerry Curran. “Exchange Avenue has become a safety hazard with an increase in traffic and accidents, especially for Crete Township residents.”
