Private toll bridge opens in Illinois

The Houbolt Road Extension opened today in Joliet, Illinois to ease truck driver routes.

The Houbolt Road Extension officially opened at 10:00 am on April 27 and consists of a 1.5 mile highway extension including a 0.6 mile bridge over the Des Plaines River.

Truck drivers now have a direct route between I-80 and the CenterPoint Intermodal Center (CIC) in Elwood, Illinois.

With about 20,000 trucks visiting CIC daily, it is the country’s largest inland port. The Houbolt Road Extension uses a fully electronic system that accepts I-PASS, E-ZPass and Pay by Plate tolls to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

The toll booth is located between the bridge and US Route 6.

Officials hope the new toll road will “significantly reduce congestion on local roads and shorten long routes to highways, saving drivers time, kilometers and money – their resources.”