Some states are allowing tollways to have higher speed limits than state interstates.
The Illinois Toll Highway Authority should seriously consider raising the speed to 80 miles per hour. Believe it or not, added road speed is an economic development tool.
Drivers using Interstate 88 obviously have to pay to do so. By raising the I-88 speed limit to 80 from the Rock Island County border to just west of Hinkley, the Tollway Authority would be giving their paying customers a nice perk to use this interstate.
The tollway uses its own signage, has its own State Police Unit, and uses tollway vehicles and personnel to plow during snow storms. In other words, if they are separate from the state in all these ways, they should be allowed to raise their speed limit.
Raising the speed to 80 miles per hour makes communities along the I-88 corridor seem closer together.
There will be many individuals who use other routes to get into Chicago that will begin using I-88. The increased traffic will increase such businesses as hotels, restaurants, and truck stops.
I believe it would also make this route more attractive in bringing in new industry, as it would cut delivery times for cargo-carrying semis.
Another benefit would be lessening commute times for intercity commuters between Dixon and Rochelle, Rochelle and DeKalb, and DeKalb and the suburbs. Finally, it would cut the travel time for Greyhound's Quad Cities-to-Chicago route, making using the bus seem more practical.
We need an 80 miles per hour speed limit for I-88.
I'm Phillip LeFevre, and that's my perspective.
