Possible Illiana route angers south Lake County residents

Nearly 500 people at a 5 p.m. public meeting Wednesday at Crown Point High School had their first good look at a proposed route for the Illiana Expressway, with many raising alarms for their homes and communities.

"I don't know what's worse," said Tina Orsi, as she surveyed a map showing the proposed route running right by her home. "Is it worse if I lose my house, or if I have to live right next to it?"

A 6 p.m. question-and-answer session Wednesday with transportation officials attended by more than 250 people turned testy, with people at times shouting out questions as a meeting moderator attempted to read questions already submitted.

"We still are listening as best we can and will make adjustments as best we can," said Greg Kicinski, director of project management for the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Two weeks ago, the Illiana Corridor Planning Group and Task Force unveiled a preliminary preferred route that starts at Interstate 65 and runs between Lowell and Cedar Lake before heading west to Wilmington, Ill., where it would join Interstate 55.

But at that meeting, far more lightly attended, only task force members could participate. Wednesday's meeting was the first time the wider public could get a good close look at maps and quiz INDOT and Illinois Department of Transportation officials with questions.

Paul Palmer, of Lowell, said he has sold insurance and investments in the area for years and his customers are very concerned about what will happen when condemnations start.

"A lot of my clients are looking forward to a happy retirement," he said. "And if they have to move, are they going to have to take a loss or are they going to get what their land is worth?"

But there seems to be little doubt now about whether the long-talked-about expressway will get built, Palmer said.

"We all believe it will be built," Palmer said. "When they named their most favored route, that was it. It's done."

Bob and Mary Ann Jakubielski, of Lowell, said they had a number of concerns; but the overriding one was where the road will go.

"My main concern is just like when they built the Indiana Toll Road, they went right over people's homes in Hammond," Bob Jakubielski said. "Is that what they will do with this?"

Kicinski and other officials emphasized 2015 would be the earliest construction could start.

At the question-and-answer session, one person wanted to know if the Illiana will change south Lake County into a clone of the urban areas to the north. Kicinski said that could be avoided with good land use planning.

The public meeting featured large maps of the recommended route spread out on tables in the school cafeteria. Also available was a computer-generated virtual flyover of the study area on a large video screen that featured aerial zoom-in views of the five alternative Illiana routes considered.

INDOT and IDOT officials, along with engineering consultants, were there to answer questions.

It was the fifth such public meeting held since summer. The planning task force, made up of local elected officials, planners, businesspeople and others, has been meeting much more frequently than that. The group narrowed down about 10 proposed routes to five contenders. The recommended route was picked from those.

INDOT and IDOT officials made it clear that going forward, it will be the task force's recommended route that will be in the spotlight. Starting on I-65 about two miles north of Ind. 2, it cuts just north of Lowell and south of Lake Dalecarlia. That route now will be researched more closely both for community impacts and how it will handle traffic.

In May or June, the transportation agencies plan to hold a public hearing on a draft environmental impact study of the Illiana. By late fall or winter, they should be ready to submit the study in final form to various state and federal agencies for review.

A decision on the environmental impact statement by the end of the year would kick off an engineering and financial study of the route.

The planning group and task force found the recommended route offers the lowest potential cost and lowest environmental impacts and would be the best route for trucks.

Kicinski told people at the question-and-answer session the plan is still to build the road as a public-private partnership. Under such a scenario, private investors would put up at least part of the money to build the road in exchange for the right to collect tolls.