States And Feds Push Indiana-Illinois Tollway

"The 63-mile highway, which Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to build as a privately financed tollway, is one of two Indiana projects selected among 14 finalists for the federal Corridors of the Future Program. The U.S. Department of Transportation initiative aims to accelerate multistate projects geared toward alleviating highway congestion."

"A dream of regional planners for decades, the Illiana Expressway is designed to draw truck traffic off the Borman Expressway. Daniels is asking the Indiana General Assembly to allow private financing for the proposed tollway."

"An exact route still is years away, but a conceptual map offered by the state has drawn concern and opposition from rural residents in southern Porter County."

"'Our membership is adamant that there's no reason for it, there's no justification given for it and we're opposed to it completely,' said Dave Ahlberg, a Morgan Township resident who helped organize Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road."