A planned privately funded tollway linking Illinois and Indiana cleared a key hurdle Thursday when a regional planning board in Indiana approved the project following months of debate. A similar board in Illinois approved the project in October.
Next step for Illinois and Indiana Departments of Transportation (IDOT, INDOT) is to secure federal approval for the $1.5-billion “Illiana” Expressway, a 47-mile corridor that would connect I-65 in northwest Indiana to I-57 and I-55 in northeast Illinois, about 58 miles south of Chicago.