Purpose and Need Statement Interstate 55 Interstate 355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) to I-90/94 (Dan Ryan Expressway) October 2017 1.0 Purpose of the Proposed Action The proposed action is to provide an improved I-55 transportation facility within the study area by addressing the existing and year 2040 transportation needs. The purpose of the proposed action is to improve mobility, travel time What is Purpose and reliability and operational efficiency to better accommodate the movement of Need? people and goods along the I-55 corridor, facilitate congestion management, A project’s Purpose and Need provide a new travel choice, provide an adaptable and sustainable multi-modal defines the transportation transportation solution, and maximize use of the existing facility. problem to be solved and provides data to support the problem statement. In other As an urban interstate, the opportunity to provide improved long-term service words, what will the project on I-55 is limited by the highly-developed land use bordering the existing accomplish and why is it right-of-way. For the I-55 Managed Lane Project, the existing right-of-way is necessary. The defined Purpose and Need therefore the I-55 property currently owned by the state of Illinois. As such, any guides the development of a proposed solution will seek to address improved service while minimizing the reasonable range of alternatives and aids in developing criteria adverse impacts on the adjacent communities and the regional economic for comparison of alternatives. vitality that I-55 serves. This project is included as a fiscally-constrained major capital project within the 2040 long-range transportation plan, or Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) which is a component of the CMAP GO TO 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan, as updated in October 20141. Similarly, this project is included in the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2014-2019 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Committee of CMAP, the MPO for the region in which the project is located. The FFY 2014-2019 TIP number for this project is 12-10-9001, and the project is currently conformed for regional air quality based on one managed lane in each direction. IDOT will be seeking a TIP amendment to provide flexibility to consider two managed lanes in each direction within the more heavily traveled northern sections of the corridor. With respect to project implementation, the State of Illinois has passed enabling What is CMAP? legislation to consider a Public Private Partnership (P3) method of project delivery for which tolling would be considered in combination with other The Chicago Metropolitan conventional state and federal transportation program funds. The Illinois P3 for Agency for Planning (CMAP) is Transportation Act requires that a joint resolution of the Illinois General responsible for comprehensive land and transportation Assembly be adopted before commencement of a P3 procurement process by planning for the northeastern IDOT. Consistent with this requirement, Senate Joint Resolution 40 and House Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, Joint Resolution 125 have been introduced with respect to the Project, but have McHenry and Will. CMAP not yet been adopted. administers the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) list of all federally funded projects The FFY 2014-2019 TIP includes funding for Phase I Engineering, professional that are ready for engineering services for a P3 advisory consultant (i.e.; Phase II Engineering), and implementation within the next professional engineering services for a P3 construction oversight consultant. This four years. project is also included in the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Fiscal Year 2018 to 2023 Proposed Highway Improvement Program for the same Phase I, Phase II, and Construction engineering services. 1 http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/about/2040/update Page 1 of 19 Purpose and Need Statement 1.1 Project Location Interstate 55 (I-55), commonly referred to as the Stevenson Expressway in Cook County, provides the primary southwest-northeast roadway access to the Chicago Central Business District (CBD). It serves Cook County, DuPage County and Will County in the Chicago Region. The Chicago Region is the northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. The I-55 study area extends from I-355 to I-90/94, approximately 25 miles, and serves the Chicago CBD as shown on Figure 1-1. Although the route generally provides northeast to southwest service, consistent with Federal designation, direction of travel will be referred to as north/south. Figure 1-1. Project Location Map Communities: 16 System Interchanges: 3 Service Interchanges: 14 Study Limits: I-355 to I-90/94 25 miles The existing roadway section of three continuous lanes in each direction with median area and adjacent land use varies considerably throughout the study area. I-55 north of Lemont Road to IL Route 43 (Harlem Ave) in DuPage and Cook Counties includes a 40-foot wide closed median and is generally flanked on the outside by frontage roads serving adjacent residential and light commercial land use. I-55 north of Harlem Avenue to I-90/94 in Cook County includes a 60-foot wide grassed median and is flanked on both sides by railroad facilities, commercial/ industrial land use and a high density urban environment. I-55 also generally parallels the Des Plaines River/Illinois-Michigan Canal/Chicago Sanitary Shipping Canal system along the northern half of the study area. I-55 is classified as an Interstate Highway in an urban area, and is designated as a Class I Truck Route under the jurisdiction of IDOT. I-55 also is part of the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET). Within the I-55 study area, there are three interstate system interchanges at I-355, I-294, and I-90/94. There are 14 full or partial service interchanges that provide access to adjacent land uses. The project lies within and/or adjacent to the municipal boundaries of 16 communities. Existing land use adjacent to I-55 is a combination of residential (predominantly west of US 12/45 (LaGrange Road), commercial, and Page 2 of 20 I-55 Managed Lanes Project industrial (predominantly east of LaGrange Road). There also is open space/forest preserve located predominantly west of LaGrange Road. The study area currently provides limited transit options. The Metra’s Heritage Corridor Service is constrained by track capacity and operates a limited peak hour service. Pace Suburban Bus provides express bus-on-shoulder service to the downtown area. The bus-on-shoulder service has continued to expand based on the reliable travel time it provides to users. 1.2 Project Background I-55 within the study area experiences severe congestion for extended periods on a daily basis. I-55 is unable to accommodate the existing traffic demands (regional, daily commuter and local) due to limited roadway capacity, roadway design constraints at some locations, high truck volumes and numerous interchanges. In addition, commuters have limited available public transit options. This has resulted in increasingly long and unreliable travel times, congestion on parallel routes, decreased safety and increased costs for delivery of goods and services. The construction of the I-55 roadway within the study area was completed in 1964, providing continuous service between the CBD, the southwest metropolitan area and the City of Joliet. In the intervening years, this facility has undergone multiple pavement rehabilitations and structural repairs, but no additional continuous capacity improvements beyond the original three lanes in each direction have been provided. The only exception is the section of I-55 between I-355 and Cass Avenue where the original four lane section was widened to a six-lane section in 1983. A new directional interchange with I-355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) was opened in 2007, resulting in increased access for the southwest and western suburban communities to I-55. Since 1964, the communities served by I-55 have undergone substantial development as the southwest portion of the Chicago Region transitioned from a primarily rural environment to an urban/suburban land use adjacent to I-55. As a result, travel service demand within the I-55 study area transitioned from a regional service demand to a daily commuter service demand. Consistent with this transition, the numerous interchanges along the route served an expanded urban demand. This trend was further accelerated by the construction of the I-355 corridor, which provided improved connections to I-55 for the southern and western suburban communities. This transition has resulted in substantial population and employment growth along the I-55 corridor resulting in continually increasing travel demands on I-55 within the study area. Page 3 of 20 I-55 Managed Lanes Project 2.0 Need for the Proposed Action The need for improvements to the I-55 corridor is to improve overall regional mobility, and to address current and projected future travel deficiencies along the I-55 corridor related to travel time reliability, providing sustainable traffic operations, and congestion management. Providing additional capacity and Why is this project improved transportation service along I-55 within the constrained urban needed? study area will require the evaluation of unique solutions that seek to serve Based on daily congestion along the transportation demands while recognizing the economic and community the I-55 corridor and the projected vitality along the corridor. increase in future travel demand, new and innovative solutions are needed to improve transportation 2.1 Regional Mobility services and provide commuters with more options. The regional and local growth within the study area has changed the nature of the surrounding land use as well as the travel demands on the facility. Residential, industrial and commercial properties, as well as active rail corridors, depend on I-55 for work trips, access for distribution of goods and services, and local mobility.