May 19, 2024
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State Rep. Walsh opposes NorthPoint access to Route 53

NorthPoint wants temporary acccess to Rt. 53 with court order in place

By Bob Okon
An aerial view of distribution centers for the NorthPoint group near the intersection of Noel Road and Illinois Route 53 on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024 in Elwood. NorthPoint is developing the Third Coast Intermodal Hub, a warehouse development of more than 2,000 acres stretching from Joliet to Elwood.

An aerial photograph shows warehouses NorthPoint Development has been building in the vicinity of Route 53 and Millsdale Road.. (Scott Anderson)

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., D-Elwood, has urged state transportation officials to reject NorthPoint Development’s request for access to Route 53.

Walsh’s objections in a letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation follow the city of Joliet’s own letter to IDOT last month urging permission for temporary Route 53 access for three warehouses that NorthPoint has built.

The request for temporary access to Route 53 is the latest issue in a seven-year controversy over NorthPoint plans.

Rep. Larry Walsh, D-Elwood, looks out over a House Public Utilities Committee hearing in which environmentalists, consumer advocates, unions and representatives of the energy sector debated the benefits and drawbacks of “right of first refusal” legislation.

Rep. Larry Walsh, D-Elwood, looks out over an Illinois House Public Utilities Committee hearing earlier this year. (Andrew Adams)

NorthPont has built three warehouses, the initial development in a much larger project, in the area of Route 53 and Millsdale Road.

Access to the warehouse is tied up in court in a lawsuit with rival developer CenterPoint Properties initiated before NorthPoint began construction. A temporary restraining order issued in March prevents the warehouses from using Millsdale Road to enter the CenterPoint Intermodal Center.

NorthPoint and the city of Joliet are asking IDOT for temporary access to Route 53 as an alternative route for the warehouses already built until the lawsuit is resolved.

NorthPoint previously has said its “closed-loop” design for its development would keep trucks off of Route 53,.

Walsh in his letter to IDOT points to the seven-year dispute over the NorthPoint project, which has faced repeated opposition from residents in his 86th legislative district.

“Up until this point the developers have not offered any concrete solutions or plans to deal with the increased truck traffic the project would bring communities across the 86th District,” Walsh said in his letter.

In a news release issued Monday, Walsh said, “Increasing truck traffic on Illinois 53 will have consequences that will ripple far beyond this ‘temporary access’ point. This decision cannot be made without a full investigation of how a new access point to the NorthPoint project will impact traffic flow in the area.”

Walsh’s objections mark one more claim that NorthPoint did not present sufficient studies to show the impact of its project on local roads.

CenterPoint Properties and area residents have made the same claim in objecting to the NorthPoint plan.