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Archive for the ‘IDOT’ Category

U.S. Route 14 Underpass Update

Posted in Aunt Blabby, Barrington Area Library, EJ&E/Canadian National, Goat Rodeo, IDOT, Mad Cows, Road construction, Traffic on October 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Temporary Route 14 Closure Update: Progress is Happening!

It has been a busy couple of weeks on the ground as we work toward opening up the temporary four-lane Route 14 roadway and the temporary two-lane Lake Zurich Road. Here’s what’s been happening behind the scenes:

  • Pavement removal on Lake Zurich Road and Route 14
  • Earthwork and grading for the temporary roads
  • Delivery and grading of ballast stone for the temporary Canadian National Railway (CN) train tracks

What’s still to come?

  • Completion of the temporary train tracks and installation of new railway gate equipment
  • A shift in train traffic
  • Utility relocations
  • Completion of both temporary road surfaces and lane line markings

As a result of ongoing utility relocation and the more manual track-building process being utilized by CN, the expected opening is now anticipated by the end of October, weather permitting. All parties are working hard to get everything ready and are exploring ways to open things even earlier, if possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and support of all Barrington businesses during this time.

Below are some aerial shots of the transformation. Things are looking great from above!

BEFORE

DURING

OVERVIEW

(Click on image to enlarge)

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Traffic Alert: Route 14 One-Lane Closures Start Today

Posted in Aunt Blabby, EJ&E/Canadian National, IDOT, Road construction, Traffic on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Please be advised that Route 14 will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Valencia Avenue and Hough Street beginning Monday, Aug. 4. The work is part of the Route 14 underpass project. Access to adjacent roads and driveways will remain open. See the traffic map below for more details.

The one-lane closures will remain in effect until the temporary full closure of Route 14 occurs (anticipated as early as Sept. 15). A temporary full closure of Route 14 is required for approximately four weeks so Canadian National Railway can complete the temporary railroad tracks and shift train traffic. During that time, a detour will be signed along Lake Cook Road and Hough Street. Once the rail line is raised and the gap in the temporary roadway is constructed, Route 14 will reopen with full four-lane traffic.

For the latest information, please visit the dedicated project website at us14underpass.com and subscribe to receive email updates.”

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Illinois 68 resurfacing scheduled to begin today(maybe)

Posted in Aunt Blabby, IDOT, Road construction, Taxes, Traffic on July 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that resurfacing of Dundee Road (Illinois 68) from the Kane County line to Algonquin Road (Illinois 62) in Barrington Hills begins July 7.

This $991,000 project will reduce Dundee Road to one lane in each direction, with traffic controlled by flaggers, until mid-November(?).

The public can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. Alternative routes are encouraged. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limits and be on the alert for workers and equipment.”

Source

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I-PASS Sticker Tags Coming Your Way

Posted in IDOT on June 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“We’ll let you know when the time is right to swap out your old I-PASS transponder for a new I-PASS Sticker Tag.

The Tollway will mail new I-PASS Sticker Tags directly to customers whose old transponders are reaching the end of their battery life. So, please make sure your mailing address is current on your I-PASS account.

After receiving the swap letter via U.S. Mail, all customers need to do is activate the new I-PASS Sticker Tag by going online or using the Official Illinois Tollway App and then attach the new sticker tag on the inside windshield of their vehicle.

The transition to I-PASS Sticker Tags is being done in coordination with other E-ZPass agencies and will ensure our customers have continuity in service wherever they travel in the 19 states that use E-ZPass.”

Learn more here.

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Barrington posts traffic notice for work beginning today

Posted in Aunt Blabby, IDOT, Road construction, Traffic on June 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Work will be performed beginning today on the Union Pacific railroad crossing on Route 59 near Catlow Court in Barrington.

“Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Sidewalk Improvement Project

Beginning Monday, June 9, through Wednesday, June 11, IDOT will be installing ADA-compliant detectable warning plates near the Union Pacific railroad crossing on Hough Street, between Franklin Street and Main Street.

What to Expect:

  • Intermittent single-lane closures on Hough Street
  • Flaggers on-site to direct traffic
  • Possible delays – consider alternate routes if possible

This state-run IDOT project is for regulatory compliance and is not connected to any other local construction work.

As the Village receives more updates from IDOT, we will continue to share them with the community.”

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70 tax, fee hikes in 15 years. $110B from Illinois taxpayers. More coming?

Posted in Barrington Education Association, BOHICA, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Dinky, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Ethics, Fat Bastard, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions on May 15, 2025| 1 Comment »

Illinois leaders keep using tax hikes as a budget quick-fix, but the state’s fiscal troubles – and the taxpayer burden – persist. Here are the 70 tax and fee hikes state leaders have imposed during the past 15 years.

By Lauren Zuar | Illinois Policy Institute

Seventy tax and fee hikes in 15 years haven’t stopped Illinois’ financial dysfunction – they’ve enabled it.

After at least 70 tax and fee increases since 2011, Illinoisans last year paid $17.3 billion more. Since 2010 all those increases in the state’s tax burden has cost Illinois taxpayers more than $110 billion in additional taxes paid.

The result of all that new money?

Illinois has the nation’s lowest emergency reserves. Its government pension crisis has worsened, with $143.7 billion in unfunded liabilities and four of the country’s worst-funded state-run systems. And forecasts show a potential $1.2 billion budget shortfall in 2026.

This isn’t because of a lack of revenue, something Gov. J.B. Pritzker has even admitted. Illinois’ core budget issue is chronic overspending, which consistently outpaces economic growth and shows no signs of slowing during the next five years.

While tax hikes haven’t saved state finances as promised, their proponents keep pushing them: a progressive income tax, higher gas and liquor taxes, expanding sales taxes to services and new levies on everything from Netflix to soda to storage units. The Chicago Teachers Union and its allies recently proposed a $7.3 billion tax plan for 2026, including new taxes on digital ads and capital gains.

The result of too many tax hikes and too few results?

Illinois’ combined state and local tax burden is the seventh-highest in the nation in one analysis and No. 1 in another, voter trust is eroding and residents and businesses are leaving for lower-cost states. Over 420,000 residents have left since 2020. New polling found 54% of Illinois voters said high taxes were the state’s top issue, and nearly half said they’d consider moving.

Before the General Assembly’s 2026 budget deadline concludes and lawmakers float new tax ideas, here’s a look at Illinois’ hikes since 2011.

Read more here.

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IDOT seeks public input on roads, rail, and EVs

Posted in Aunt Blabby, IDOT, Taxes, Traffic on May 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By Illinois Department of Transportation

The Illinois Department of Transportation is asking the public to provide feedback on the state’s transportation system and the agency’s overall performance by taking the annual Traveler Opinion Survey.

Conducted through May 30, the survey is available online at go.uis.edu/traveler2025 or visiting by idot.illinois.gov.

Done in partnership with the University of Illinois Springfield, the survey is an opportunity for people who live in Illinois to provide feedback on a wide range of topics, giving IDOT valuable insight and information to continue being a national leader in transportation services.

This year’s survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and asks for input on commuting habits, passenger rail, ice and snow removal, planning priorities, electric vehicles and more.

In 2024, more than 1,700 responses were received.

The Traveler Opinion Survey has been a staple of IDOT since 2001. Copies of previous surveys and results can be viewed via idot.illinois.gov.

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Illinois drivers face some of the nation’s highest costs, expected to grow

Posted in Economy, IDOT, Illinois Policy Institute, Road construction, Taxes, Topics Of Interest on April 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Fears have grown that more efficient cars mean less money for Illinois to fund roads. But the state already collects higher revenues than ever while burdening drivers with high taxes and fees. | Photo by Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto via AP

By Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois is collecting more money from gas taxes and driving fees than ever, but concerns are growing about electric cars and fuel efficiency limiting funds for roads and bridges.

Illinois has an efficiency problem rather than a funding problem – and it’s not fuel efficiency that’s the problem. According to the latest report from the Reason Foundation, Illinois ranked 45th in the nation in capital and bridge disbursements, which are the costs of building new roads and bridges and widening existing ones. This ranking shows inefficiencies in how the state allocates funds as it spends $98,000 per lane-mile while it’s expected to spend $68,000 based on factors such as urbanization.

Burdening drivers to cover costs for ballooning inefficient budgets is nothing new for Illinois. Below is an overview of fees and taxes Illinoisans face for owning and operating a vehicle.

Gas taxes

In 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled the per-gallon gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents. Since then, it has grown to 47 cents per gallon. Illinois is also one of the few states to apply sales taxes to gas after the motor fuel tax is charged, essentially taxing drivers on the taxes they are paying.

As a result, Illinois drivers pay the second-highest combined state, federal and local gas taxes in the country, only behind California. About 85 cents of every gallon of gas goes to these taxes, nearly double what some of Illinois’ Midwest neighbors, such as Missouri, charge.  The average Illinois driver pays $323 annually in state gas taxes alone.

Read on here.

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Per-mile tax on drivers proposed

Posted in BOHICA, Chicago Sun*Times, IDOT, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Under proposed legislation, Illinois would explore the viability of reducing reliance on the state’s gas tax by putting in place a “road usage charge,” essentially a tax on the number of miles driven. | Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

By George Wiebe | Chicago Sun*Times

Funding worries: As vehicles become more fuel efficient and electric vehicles make greater inroads, Illinois faces an unexpected consequence — less funding for roads. The motor fuel tax helps pay for road, bridge and public transit improvements throughout Illinois. Now, though, vehicles require less gas — or no gas at all — so funding for infrastructure has taken a hit.

Proposed fix: Legislation proposed by state senators Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) and Christopher Belt (D-East St. Louis) takes aims at the problem by creating a pilot program to explore the viability of establishing a “road usage charge,” essentially a tax on miles driven.

How it would work: To track and report mileage, some drivers could have a transponder on their car, though motorists also could be allowed to send a photo of their odometer to IDOT.

Read the full story here.

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Kennedy Expressway’s reversible express lanes expected to reopen Monday morning: IDOT

Posted in IDOT, Road construction, SNAFU, Traffic on January 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By Ethan Illers | WGN Chicago

CHICAGO – The reversible express lanes on the Kennedy Expressway are expected to reopen Monday morning.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said the express lanes are scheduled to reopen and resume normal operations by 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 13, weather permitting, just in time for rush hour.

The new lanes feature several reversible gates over a seven-and-a-half-mile stretch of roadway, which can flip from inbound to outbound depending on the volume of traffic.

The express lanes were originally set to reopen in December, but more testing was required on the reversible gates, causing the opening to be delayed until Monday.

The overall Kennedy rehabilitation project, from the Edens Expressway junction to Ohio Street, is taking place over three construction seasons. The inbound Kennedy was completed in 2023, with the outbound lanes starting next spring and taking one full construction season to complete.

More here.

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