More Congestion In Store Without Alternate Routes?

Will Northwest Indiana solve its transportation problems without additional road construction? The Northwest Indiana Times opines that region motorists should think carefully about the consequences of not planning for additional roadways.

This year, the Indiana General Assembly was considering a plan to study whether to build the Illiana Expressway between I-94 in LaPorte County and I-57 in Illinois. The road was proposed as a way to unclog the Borman.

The loud public outcry against the study -- not the road itself, but simply a feasibility study -- caused the Legislature to approve only a study of a truncated route linking I-65 and I-57.

People driving the region's roads should consider the consequences.

The region's location makes it a logical choice for the transportation, distribution and logistics industry. Intermodal facilities here could help relieve the bottleneck for rail freight traffic in and out of Chicago. That means even more traffic will be using the region's highways -- adding to the congestion if nothing else changes.

It takes many years to move a new highway from a concept to a completed route. The time to plan new routes is now, before the region becomes so heavily developed that new routes are hard to plot.

My prediction. Additional roadways will have to be built in this area to alleviate traffic jams and to facilitate new job creation. The Illiana Expressway will be built because to not build means a future of traffic jams stretching from the Chicago Southland to Berrien County, Michigan.

Copyright 2007, ChristopherHedges.com, All Rights Reserved.

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