Farmers Weekly Review

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., (D-Elwood), has pushed back on a recent request to increase truck traffic on Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) made to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) by the City of Joliet and “Northpoint,” the developer of the Third Coast Intermodal Hub project. Walsh opposed the request for change in a letter sent to IDOT on May 3rd.

“If IDOT is considering granting this modification to the permit, it cannot and should not do so without a full and complete traffic study,” said Walsh.

“Increasing truck traffic on IL 53 will have consequences that will ripple far beyond this ‘temporary access’ point. This decision cannot be made without a full investigation of how a new access point to the Northpoint project will impact traffic flow in the area.”

The Northpoint development was originally planned to exist within the Village of Elwood, but after the project was rejected, developers instead worked with the previous administration of the City of Joliet to annex land from unincorporated Jackson Township. The permit that the city has asked to modify severely limited the amount of truck traffic that could flow through IL 53. The requested change would lift those limits.

“Up until this point, the developers have not offered any concrete solutions or plans to deal with the increased truck traffic the project would bring to communities across the 86th District,” said Walsh.

The full letter to IDOT follows:

 

May 3, 2024

Mr. Jose Rios, District 1 Engineer
Illinois Department of Transportation – Region 1/District 1 201 West Center Court
Schaumburg, Illinois 60196-1096

RE: Third Coast lntermodal Hub – City of Joliet (District Permit #1-T-23-0352)

 

Dear Mr. Rios:

I am writing because on April 23, 2024 the Illinois Department of Transportation received a letter
from the City Manager of the City of Joliet, H. Elizabeth Beatty. In the referenced letter, City Manager Beatty asked for IDOT’s cooperation with an earlier request made by East Gate – Logistics Park Chicago, LLC (“East Gate”) regarding the Third Coast lntermodal Hub project, known otherwise as “Northpoint”.

The request made by East Gate involved modification of District Permit #1-T-23-0352 (“Permit”) to allow full vehicular access to IL 53, including high weight and volume truck traffic, until such time as legal disputes relating to access of Millsdale Road are resolved or until the construction of a planned crossing bridge over the nearby Union Pacific owned rail line.

It is absolutely within the city’s rights to give their support to the request made by East Gate, just as it is for East Gate to make the request in the first place, and I am sure the Department will make every effort to consider any modification to the permit in the fair and professional manner that your staff is known for. However, I am writing to make my position, as the duly elected State Representative of the 86th district, on this request and the Northpoint project in totality absolutely clear.

The Northpoint project has been in discussion in some form for the last seven years. Up until this point the developers have not offered any concrete solutions or plans to deal with the increased truck traffic the project would bring to communities across the 86th District. The only solution that has been offered is what they describe as a “closed loop” that would keep truck traffic contained within the boundaries of their proposed development.

Unfortunately, this proposal does not include any discussion of how trucks will access the loop or acknowledge the effect of the increased traffic on the roadways that would be utilized to get to any access point. Meaning that it is not an actual solution to any of the problems this project would bring with it.
Problems that this proposed modification would deliver to the region faster.

Second, if IDOT is considering granting this modification to the permit, it cannot and should not do so without a full and complete traffic study. Increasing truck traffic on IL 53 will have consequences that will ripple out far beyond this “temporary” access point. This is not a decision that can be made without a full investigation of how a completely new access point to the Northpoint project will impact traffic flows in the area. A full traffic study will also clearly show that new signaling will need to be installed at the proposed access point.

All other access points to intermodal facilities in Will County have required increased signalization and this new access point, temporary or not, will require the same. Per IDOT policy, new signalization requires a traffic study and no decision on the requested modification should move forward without one.

Finally, these past seven years have seen a significant amount of community opposition to this project. This opposition has come from across the 86th district, including the residents of the City of Joliet. When the previous city administration chose to move forward with the annexation of land for the project, they ignored both community pushback and the concerns of surrounding communities that had rejected it in previous years.

The current administration has chosen to take a different approach. They have once again opened a dialogue with neighboring towns and are engaging with community stakeholders. Joliet should continue down this path. Granting this modification while those conversations are just beginning again will make these much needed discussions more difficult and less effective.

For the reasons stated above I strongly encourage IDOT to reject any modifications to District Permit #1-T-23-0352.
As always, thank you and the entire IDOT staff for your professionalism and dedicated public service. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at your convenience.

Respectfully,

Lawrence “Larry” Walsh Jr.
State Representative – House District 86

Later, state Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, joined Walsh in opposing Joliet’s request.

“I echo my colleagues’ concerns regarding the developers’ lack of tangible solutions to deal with the increased truck traffic that would directly impact residents’ daily life. There needs to be accountability for the promises this developer has made. I encourage IDOT to deny temporary access and enforce the initial developer’s plans.

“I am committed to continuing to work to stop this decision in order to properly assess the project and end a request that would put profit over people,” she said in a release.

“Many residents have vehemently opposed the project for years, and we need the city of Joliet to listen to them.”