I’m told that Gov. Blagojevich skipped the opening of this open-road tolling link. He has been to all the others, even bringing in a famous Indy car racer to zoom through one of them. Some reporters were not pleased with the short notice of his pending absence, particularly since the campaign promised last week that they’d be more forthcoming about his schedule. A call and an e-mail to the governor’s press office asking for an explanation were not returned. What up, RR?
With the opening Thursday of a new Open Road Tolling plaza on the Reagan Memorial Tollway, drivers are entering the last lap of a two-year toll collection overhaul that has often caused significant delays.
The resulting free-flow will be well worth the past backups, transportation experts and tollway officials said.
“This is great news for long-suffering motorists,” said Joe Schwieterman, director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. “Too many traffic tie-ups have been attributed to the inefficient toll booth design.”