Illinois State Toll Highway Authority - History

History

The original Toll Highway Authority was established in 1941. After construction of the first toll highways in Illinois was delayed by World War II, the Illinois State Toll Highway Commission was established in 1953. The first three toll highways in the Chicago area were all planned, constructed, and finally opened in 1958 under the authority of this Commission. These first three toll highways are the present day Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90/I-39/US 51), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294) and the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88, between Hillside and Sugar Grove). The first segment to open was the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway between Devon Avenue and Elgin on August 20, 1958 at 3 p.m. The Toll Highway Act, in its present form, dates from 1967, but has been amended since. Under the Act, on April 1, 1968, ISTHA assumed all the obligations, powers, duties, functions and assets of its predecessor agency, The Illinois State Toll Highway Commission.

In the 1970s, the East–West Tollway was extended west from Sugar Grove to Dixon, Illinois with a freeway continuing to the Quad Cities. In 2004, ISTHA voted to rename this route the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. The route was later given the I-88 designation in order to obtain a higher speed limit.

In June 1984, Republican minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, James "Pate" Philip, helped push through legislation authorizing the construction of the North–South Tollway, then referred to as simply the DuPage Tollway. Officials at the Morton Arboretum, one of the nation's premier woodland research centers, promptly filed a federal lawsuit to block construction of the tollway. They also promised to prevent the tollway authority from obtaining environmental approval from federal officials. Ultimately, the lawsuit was settled, and I-355 was opened in 1989 as a tollway between Army Trail Road and I-55 near Bollingbrook. On November 24, 2007, a 12.5 miles (20.1 km) extension of I-355 opened to link I-55 to I-80. Construction of that I-355 extension began after years of delays and environmental litigation.

The Illinois Tollway website officially launched on September 1, 1997. The website includes online ordering of I-Pass transponders and managing I-Pass accounts. In 2009-2010, the website underwent a $4.4 million e-commerce overhaul.

In 2004, ISTHA made a strategic decision to expand and improve the tollway system instead of converting the roads to freeways. It adopted a $6.3 billion congestion-relief program named "Open Roads for a Faster Future". Under the program, the main toll plazas were rebuilt to have open road tolling, so that drivers with transponders would drive at normal speeds under toll collecting equipment instead of stopping to pay tolls. The toll plazas were relocated to the side of the road to handle vehicles without transponders. The plan also included widening many of the toll roads, and resurfacing the others. I-355 was extended south of I-55 to connect to I-80 in New Lenox, Illinois, a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km), in order to serve fast-growing areas of Will County. The project also includes adding an interchange between the Tri-State Tollway and I-57. These improvements were financed by long-term revenue bonds that require the system to remain as toll roads until the bonds are repaid in 2034.

In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus bill) provided for federal subsidies of certain construction bonds. As a result, 35% of the interest expense from ISTHA's 2009 bonds will be paid by the Federal Government. On November 24, 2009, ISTHA sold $240 million in such bonds and had sold another $400 million in May 2009.

Historically, the Tollway had a lower speed limit for trucks. However, effective January 1, 2010, trucks are allowed to drive up to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) on the segment of the Jane Addams Tollway west of milepost 49 and on the Reagan Tollway west of milepost 99. Trucks are limited to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) on all other segments.