When Will County Center for Economic Development CEO John Grueling uttered the word "crisis," in reference to the Will County road system last March, Will County officials sprang into action.

Officials began discussing the reality of 20th century planning that created 21st century problems.

Things have changed drastically in the last 20 years. Those were the days when growth in Will County was more of an item on a wish list than a stark reality. It was in those days when planners were trying to sell the idea of growth, that they claimed growth would pay for itself. Hindsight being 20/20 has certainly proven that not to be the case.

Will County Executive Larry Walsh now admits that when the county planned for the intermodal facility at Elwood, they had no idea what kind of problems would be associated with the truck traffic it generates.

Today, the cost estimate of the problems caused by growth in the county can be measured by about $1.5 billion just for transportation.

The problems are twofold. There has been failure of the roads and bridges caused by heavy volumes of truck traffic and there is congestion caused by increased population.

In the last five years since BNSF’s Logistics Park in Elwood has been operational, it has become clear that planners didn’t anticipate what the intermodal facility and the plethora of trucks that use it, would do to the road system. And, the trucks filter onto county, state, and even local roads - none of which were designed for the kind of pounding they receive.

An estimated 45,000 trucks enter or leave the facility every day, according to U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, who urged county officials last May, to come up with a needs package to be delivered to the U.S. Congress for inclusion in the transportation spending bill.

In addition, Weller cited a study in U.S. News and World Report citing Will County gridlock as the eighth-worst in the nation for commuter times.

A recent Forbes study said Will County commuters spend upwards of 90 minutes each way getting to and from their jobs.

After much wrangling, county officials decided to join other counties legislatively, to be able to place a referendum on the ballot to increase the gas tax. Though the initiative was approved by the legislature, Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed it. Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi says lawmakers will try to override the veto when the legislature reconvenes.

Finally, the public relations portion of the problem is at hand. Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas has used the technological tools available to him to explain the problem to the public. So, if a referendum to raise the gas tax ever does become available, the public will be able to vote responsibly on the issue.

An informative podcast that includes a roundtable discussion outlining Will County’s transportation problems is available at: Will County Sheriff’s website at: <http://www.willcosheriff.org/>

Streaming media into your own home computer will let you sit in on the two-part discussion that includes: State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, Will County Sheriff Paul Kaupas, Will County Board Member Cory Singer who heads the county board transportation committee, County Executive Larry Walsh, and County Engineer Sheldon Lattz.

The panel talks about the problems with truck traffic caused by the Logistics Park in Elwood. Several other proposals are on the drawing board, such as the IKEA distribution center in Joliet, an intermodal facility in Crete, one in Wilmington, and possibly another in Beecher.

"There are 6300 acres of trucks coming," Singer said.

He added that some industrial parks are being planned in Kankakee County that will also impact Will County roads.

Will County is predicted to grow from its present 680,000 people to 1.1 million by 2030 according to the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

Wilhelmi suggested that many people work outside the county.

"We need to make sure we are giving everybody in Will County a reason to work in Will County," he said. For those who do commute, however, he also touted the benefits of Metra, which keeps people off the roads. And, he said it is time to look at public/private partnerships such as the tollway - pay as you go.

He predicted that in the next 20 years, "there will be a lot of private dollars with public dollars."

Other tools, such as recapture agreements, whereby the county makes needed improvements and then recoups the cost from future developments, are also being considered.

"This is not a problem related to the citizens of Will County," Singer concluded. "We can’t ask the residents to pay without going to the business or industrial community.

"We are not going to be able to, nor will the taxpayers accept, reaching into tax increases, gas or real estate taxes, to underwrite repairing and trying to solve this problem," reasoned Walsh.

"There is going to have to be a major commitment, Walsh said. He added that Will County has now seen a major intermodal being built. The county has been the recipient of that growth and seen first hand what jobs it brought. The county has seen what it did for the economy and for Will County’s place in the global transportation world.

"But, we have seen the backlash of and repercussion with quality of life, truck traffic, maintenance repairs, and need for reconstruction," he concluded.

"When does one outweigh the other? asked Walsh. Finally, he asked, "If we get to the point when what we are receiving doesn’t outweigh what we have to give up, is it worth bringing in?"