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U. S. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill. ) said last week that support is growing for a proposed expressway connecting Interstate Highway 57 near Monee with Interstate Highway 65 near Crown Point, Ind.

Weller said an east-west expressway south of Crete is needed due to traffic congestion on Interstate Highway 80. Gridlock has pushed a “tremendous amount of truck traffic” through eastern Will and Kankakee Counties in search of alternate routes, he said.

Weller noted there is opposition to the project, especially in Indiana, in part because of rapid residential development along the proposed route.

“Every one of these is a political roadblock,” he said.