FAQs

The study area is located in southern Will County and northern Kankakee County in Illinois and southern Lake County in Indiana.  The area is generally located between I-65 on the east, I-55 on the west and bordered by US 30 to the north and northern Kankakee County to the south.

The planning process will be conducted in two parts or Tiers.  Tier One will involve defining transportation needs, developing alternatives, and determining a preferred plan at a concept level of detail, as well as sections of the project that could be pursued independently.  Tier Two includes detailed engineering and environmental studies for the preferred plan.  Extensive stakeholder involvement will be a key feature of the overall planning process.

The study will follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.  NEPA is a federal law that requires federally funded projects to evaluate a range of alternatives - including doing nothing, known as “No Build” - and the impacts of those alternatives on the environment.  It also requires agencies proposing a project to consider input from the public before making a final recommendation.

The Tier One EIS study was initiated in April 2011 and will be completed within 24 months. Tier Two EIS studies may take an additional 24-36 months.

The study was initiated in April 2011, so we are just in the beginning stages of the Tier One EIS Study.  As part of our initial work we are meeting with stakeholders to beginning our scoping process (gathering data, identifying study issues/concerns and goals of the project) with environmental agencies and stakeholders within the study area.

The Illiana study is jointly sponsored by IDOT and INDOT.  As part of the public outreach, the project team will seek input from a broad range of stakeholders, including area residents, communities, counties, townships, agencies, elected officials, and interested groups.

IDOT is managing the consulting contracts and overall study.  INDOT is financially participating in the study and will provide leadership for the Indiana portion of the study area.  IDOT and INDOT will act as joint lead agencies with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for preparation of the EIS.  AECOM is the selected Project Management consultant and is an extension of IDOT. A consultant team led by Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) will conduct the Illiana Corridor Study for IDOT and INDOT.

The public involvement framework is based upon IDOT and INDOT’s Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) policy. Public involvement is a key component of CSS and is strongly encouraged during the study. Plans are underway to provide many opportunities for the public to provide input on their needs and potential solutions within the corridor. Forums include corridor planning and a technical task force group, public meetings, and small group meetings. Through these and other means, IDOT and INDOT will proactively seek stakeholder input and partnerships early and often to develop a consensus on solutions. Up-to-date information and a way to comment are available on the project website at www.illianacorridor.org.  The next public meetings will be held in the winter of 2011.

There is currently no funding for constructing the project—only Phase I studies (Tier One and Tier Two EIS studies) are funded at this time.  However, as part of the planning process, we will explore various ways to pay for the project.  One option that will be explored in detail will be public private partnerships, or “P3”, which allows for private financing to be used to construct the project.

A “P3” is a situation in which private investor provides financing to build a project, based upon a set of terms and conditions set forth by the public agency (i.e., IDOT or INDOT).  In many cases, the project may still require some level of public financing (i.e., State or Federal funds).  The terms of and conditions of a P3 agreement can vary.

Phase I (Tier One and Tier Two EISs) may take up to four years to complete and Phase II (Final Design and Construction Plans) typically takes approximately two years.   However, at this time only Phase I is funded.

Stakeholders for a project include any person or organization which has a direct stake in the project being considered. This can be anything from a small group of residents and businesses affected by the redesign of a rural intersection to thousands of individuals when a major roadway or transit extension is being built. Stakeholders can include residents and landowners near a project, advocates for policy, community and historic interests, elected officials, government agencies, and many others.

You can direct questions and comments to us via this website.  Written correspondence can be sent directly to Illinois Department of Transportation-Region One/District 1, Kesti Susinskas, 201 W. Center Court, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196 or by fax: 847.705.4126.