The Illinois Tollway celebrated a new customer service center along Interstate 294 on Thursday that offers in-person customer service for assistance with account management, paying tolls or invoices for customers in south suburban communities.
The center also fills service gaps for rest areas in a high-traffic area, said Dan Rozek, communications manager for Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
Customers can reach the service center, named the Markham Plaza, through the northbound I-294 tollway lanes. Rozek said officials are exploring local access options from 167th Street.
Markham Plaza also offers 29 parking spaces for commercial trucks in an area Rozek said has high demand for semi-truck parking due to its location in the heart of three major roadways, I-294, I-57 and I-80.
The Lincoln Oasis rest area on I-80/294 is often overfilled with demand for truck parking, and there’s a two-hour limit on spaces, Rozek said. The Markham Plaza does not have a time limit on spaces, which offers longer rest times for drivers, Rozek said.
“There’s a need for our truckers to, you know, have rest and be able to take part of … amenities that help them along their travels,” said Cassaundra Rouse, executive director of the toll authority.
The Markham Plaza spaces include Shorepower truck stop electrification stations, allowing truck drivers to turn off their engines and charge equipment, which a toll authority statement said means cleaner air and less noise. The Lincoln Oasis parking spaces do not offer that option.
The center received its name due to the collaboration between toll authority and Markham officials, who requested more sustainability measures, according to Rouse.
Rouse said the center will also provide information on Markham history and businesses to support in the Chicago Southland region. There will also be artwork displayed from area high schools, which she said is important for both the community and travelers from afar to see.
“The Markham Plaza is a great example of public agencies working together with shared vision and united goals,” Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa said in a statement.
A nearby solar farm was built to help power the building, with additional energy going to the regional grid, and sustainable landscaping was used to complement the adjacent Ginsburg-Markham Prairie ecosystem, Rozek said. He also said the toll authority plans to install electric vehicle chargers in the next year.
These sustainability measures are just as important as providing amenities for truck drivers, Rouse said.
State Rep. Will Davis, a Chicago Democrat, said these sustainability measures align the toll authority with Gov. JB Pritzker’s goal to move the state forward in being more “green.” He said as the state aims to reach its ambitious clean energy goals, which call for retiring major traditional sources of power such as natural gas-fired energy plants by 2045, it’s important to be strategic in powering buildings.
Davis said a group of state legislators are also considering using some of Illinois tollway revenue as park of a solution to address mass transit issues, such as the Chicago Transit Authority’s severe budget shortfall.
awright@chicagotribune.com
