The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has put forth an ambitious congestion-pricing plan for new highway lanes planned on six major roadways across the Chicago metro area in the hopes of building political and public support.
Jon Hilkevitch details CMAP's plans for easing brutal rush hour commutes along key arteries such as the Stevenson Expressway (I-55), Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) by implementing a congestion-pricing plan on "new highway lanes planned on six major existing and future roadways across the six-county area."
"In the proposal, the amount would be 5 cents to 31 cents per mile during rush hours, depending on the specific roadway," says Hilkevitch, and "would generate an estimated $74 million
annually in gross revenue, according to CMAP."
"Officials at the agency
said the money could be used to help fund capacity-expansion projects and improvements to mass transit....CMAP has made congestion pricing a top priority in its 'Go to 2040'
blueprint for improving infrastructure and the quality of life in
northeastern Illinois."
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