Recent flooding that resulted in closing the Borman Expressway, (I80/94) in Northwest Indiana for three days had commuters and travelers scrambling for an alternative route.

A Northwest Indiana Times editorial proclaimed the flooding concerns as proof of a need for the Illiana Expressway.

Indiana support, which has been lukewarm at times may have gained some followers during the storms. But, the road is still far from being a done deal.

Most of the support for what would be a third interstate connector across the Illinois/Indiana line, conceptualized for decades, has mostly come from the Illinois side.

This was evident in the letters of support for the project that accompanied its phase II application last May.

The application for the Illiana Expressway and Freight Corridor Study as a 'Corridors of the Future Program,' contained only two letters of support from Indiana — The Northwest Indiana Forum, an economic development agency and the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Study — the metropolitan planning organization responsible for the region’s planning.

In Illinois however, letters were written by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL; U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-IL; two Illinois Senators, Maggie Crotty, D-19 and Ed Maloney, D-18; three Illinois Representatives, Bill Davis, D-30, Robert Rita, D-28, and Renee Kosel, R-81.

In addition, letters were received by Centerpoint Properties; Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce; South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA); Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council; Illinois Department of Transportation; and 14 SSMMA communities from Homewood to Oak Forest, South Holland and others far from the project. Locally, they included SSMMA communities Monee and Crete. Most of the letters were worded the same, signifying copies placed on different letterheads, with few exceptions.

Illinois officials have long favored building the road. After all, it has been tied to the proposed airport near Peotone. Therefore, it is not surprising that those sending endorsement letters for the Illiana study are the same officials that have backed a new airport.

Support for the Indiana side is much less energetic, however. In fact, there has been significant and vocal opposition to the road.

Former Gov. Frank O’Bannon, who fell victim to a stroke while in office in 2003, was a vocal opponent of the road because he believed it would siphon development away from what was then the Gary Regional Airport. It later became the Gary/Chicago International Airport when O’Bannon participated in a partnership with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Joseph Kernan. served two years as governor after O’Bannon’s death. Little was said about the Illiana during that time.

But, the project began anew under the present Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, elected in 2005.

Initially, Daniels proposed building the Illiana from Interstate 57 in Illinois, past I-65 to the northern reaches of Porter and LaPorte counties. It was to be paid for by a public-private partnership, much like the Indiana Toll Road and what Daniels referred to as the Indiana Commerce Connector, an 80-mile ring road proposed around Indianapolis.

Public opposition to the easternmost leg of the Illiana caused Daniels to drop the easternmost portion. It was pared down to the approximately 25-mile segment that Illinois officials wanted all along - a connection between I-57 and I-65. The legislation to study the route was proposed by State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso.

But this week, Soliday is so furious with the Indiana Dept. of Transportation that he is considering suing them.

Soliday says INDOT has failed to follow the funding guidelines in the legislation approved last May.

He charges that INDOT is looking only at private financing, but was mandated to explore all funding options. He claims they are violating state law.

Last spring, the items the study was supposed to cover included:

●Projections for acquisition costs and eminent domain issues;

●Needs assessment of the expressway;

●Expected use of the proposed expressway and any toll revenues;

●Expected construction costs;

●Expected operating and maintenance costs;

●Options for funding acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance costs;

●A description of the department’s recommended route;

●Traffic projections, showing expected use and relief of congestion;

●Alternative routes;

●Economic impact studies on the proposed route and affected areas;

●Any other information that is necessary or appropriate to assist the General Assembly in evaluating the Illiana Expressway project.

At issue is the request for proposal for consultants who will conduct the study of the roadway.

Soliday charged that only public-private funding options were listed in the proposal.