The sadistic lunatics running the tollway (Chicago, Normal: buy, construction, income)

[prairiestate]

How many people here have enjoyed the 5 miserable years of non stop construction on the tollway system? Well, it's not over yet. We can add on a couple more years of construction as the tollway constructs "green lanes", i.e. car pool lanes. They couldn't just tackle this all at once. No. Instead they have to do the open road tolling first, then the widening, and now this, stretched out year after year after year. So, when this is all done, hopefully by 2020, how many lanes will we have on the tollway. Nope, not 4, which they are building now. We'll be back to only three lanes, unless you want to pay some super inflated premium rate to travel alone in the car pool lane. This wonderful innovation may benefit about 1% of the the people who use the tollway.

[Steve-o]

Yep, they bend us over once again.

[Avengerfire]

Thank Blago for making the tradition even worse the last few years.

[Anthera]

What a great title for a thread!

[chet everett]

While title is funny, it is not accurate. The Toll Authority runs the the thing, and the do so in a pretty sound financial manner, based on the bond rating: Fitch Rates Illinois Tollway's $400MM Revs 'AA-'; Outlook Stable

No surprise that moonbat Blago wanted to get some press about HOV lanes, and he'd love to have something to fatten up his warchest with contributions from the powerful "lobby for never ending road construction" but I would not take the timeline to the bank just yet...

[allydriver]

I'm living in Nashville for the time being and they have HOV lanes here.
The only purpose I see to an HOV lane is the opportunity it provides law enforcement for additional income, which is generated from fines they levy on frustrated motorists by ticketing them when they tire of sitting in traffic and eventually bolt into the typically wide open HOV lane. I have a suspicion that there are also Federal dollars kicked to the states for having them as well.
Do they work anywhere?

[Drover]

No "HOV lane" scheme has ever achieved its stated purpose. All they have ever accomplished is to make congestion even worse in the non-HOV lanes while the HOV lane sits woefully underutilized. There was some talk about making the HOV lanes in Pittsburgh a combined HOV/toll lane (they are on non-toll expressways) that HOVs could use free and non HOVs could use for a fee, but naturally the egalitarians were not going to stand for the fact that "the poor and working class" would not be able to use them and therefore it was a perk for rich people. Sometimes I think class envy is a mental disease.

[cubssoxfan]

IF there was reliable, accessible suburb to suburb public transportation, maybe I could buy argument for HOV lanes. Since we do not have true inter-suburb public transportation, the HOV lanes are inane! Seems prejudiced towards suburbanites.

[NYrules]

Ok coming from NY with the 495 on LI having one of these HOV lanes, I can see how it potentially can work, but the 495 has one main destination... MANHATTAN! Where does 294 eventually end up that everyone is trying to get to? Indiana? Wisconsin? If thats the case, then maybe Blago needs to wake up and answer that question, as to why everyone is trying to leave the state so often... Are cigarettes and alchohol that heavily taxed in IL now that residents feel the need to leave the state to purchase these goods?

So again, where is the main focal point that everyone is going to? There isn't one. All that said, drivers who trap themselves in this supposedly speedy HOV lane, will be needing to merge back into the now completely stopped other 3 through lanes to access the exit ramps, as well as those entering the tollway will need to be jutting across three lanes of stopped traffic to attempt to enter the HOV lane. How is all this smart? How is this even safe? ITS NOT. When will politicians wake up and realize this one main thing... CHICAGO IS NOT NEW YORK! Stop trying to turn this into New York number 2!

[chet everett]

GREAT POST from NYRules -- clearly the Blagoninator needs to get in a NORMAL car and actual drive on the tollways before he tries to cram the HOV lanes. Today, as in RIGHT NOW I can think of about half a dozen spots on 355, 294 and 88 where emmissions from idiling vehicles could be HUGELY reduced with reconfigured exits. HOV lanes will NOT work becuase there are so many drivers getting off at so many different CROSS LINKED exits!

Think of where southbound 355 feeds into BOTH E&W I-88 AND the Butterfield Rd ramps -- people jam the crap out of that because it is so X-overed. Think of westbound 290 dumping into 88 right where the 22nd/Spring Rd ramp AND the southbound 83 ramps all X-over.

Think about 55 smacking into the 355 with its exits.

Massive reconfiguration is needed, and the LACK of decent ramps near Rt53 after DECADES of underutilization of the Lucent complex only makes hope things DO NOT "boom" anytime soon...