UPP Professor Kate Lowe Expresses Concerns Over State Proposal for I-55 Expansion
A pair of bills currently being fast-tracked through the Illinois General Assembly include provisions that could expand the scope of public-private partnerships in major infrastructure projects and cede control over transportation planning to private entities. In an interview with WTTW, Dr. Kate Lowe weighed in on these proposals. She explains how expansions like those proposed for I-55 create induced demand that worsens, rather than alleviates, heavy traffic. She also expresses concerns over how these proposals give control over planning to private entities and could undermine future alternative transportation projects. The proposal to add privately managed express lanes to I-55 has also alarmed environmental justice advocates from Chicago's West Side.
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