Title
A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE OF ORLAND PARK, ILLINOIS URGING THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO BUILD THE I-80 RECONSTRUCTION, EXPANSION AND WIDENING PROJECT; AND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROJECT ENHANCEMENTS
Body
WHEREAS, according to the Will County Community Friendly freight Mobility Plan, Will County is the largest inland port in North America with 3.5% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product moving through Will County annually; and
WHEREAS, Will County’s rail and truck facilities handle over 3.5 million international containers annually, making it the fifth busiest of all U.S. ports, including seaports; and
WHEREAS, about half of the aforementioned freight moves by truck through Will County, representing more than its fair share of regional and national economic activity, including more than seventy-four percent of that freight passing through the county not starting or ending within County limits; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) has prepared an Environmental Assessment for the I-80 Project dated October 2019; and
WHEREAS, I-80 was built in the 1960’s as a rural interstate corridor through Will, Grundy and Kendall Counties for substantially lesser traffic volumes; and
WHEREAS, I-80 today suffers from deferred maintenance and is insufficient to handle both current and future projected traffic volumes; and
WHEREAS, reliable and convenient transportation are the lifeblood of a healthy and vibrant economy.
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved, that the Village of Orland Park expresses their support for IDOT preferred alternative design for the corridor as presented in the Environmental Assessment report dated October 2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Village of Orland Park, Illinois urges IDOT to eliminate the gap in the auxiliary lanes between Houbolt Road and Larkin Avenue, to acquire the necessary real estate to accommodate the future eight-lane configuration, to build all project bridges and overpasses to accommodate I-80’s future eight-lane configuration, and to plan for the future widening of I-80 east of the project limits, including through and past the eastern limits of the Village of Orland Park.
DATED at Orland Park, Illinois, this 18th day of November, 2019.