The commander of the 12th Aviation Battalion directed the unit to pause helicopter flight operations around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following Thursday’s close calls, two Army officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday. One official said the flights have been paused since Friday.

The pause comes after 67 people died in January when a passenger jet collided in midair with a Black Hawk helicopter at Reagan airport.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that were not publicly announced. The unit is continuing to fly in the greater Washington, D.C., region.

The unit had begun a return to flight within the last week, with plans to gradually increase the number of flights over the next four weeks, according to an Army document viewed by the AP.

Thursday’s close call involved a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

They were instructed by air traffic control to “perform go-arounds” because of a “priority air transport” helicopter, according to an emailed statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The priority air transport helicopters of the 12th battalion provide transport service to top Pentagon officials. It was a Black Hawk priority air transport known as PAT25 that collided with the passenger jet in midair in January.

That crash was the worst U.S. midair disaster in more than two decades. In March, the FAA announced that helicopters would be prohibited from flying in the same airspace as planes near Reagan airport.

The NTSB and FAA are both investigating the latest close call with an Army helicopter.

The Army said after the latest incident that the UH-60 Blackhawk was following published FAA flight routes and air traffic control from Reagan airport when it was “directed by Pentagon Air Traffic Control to conduct a ‘go-around,’ overflying the Pentagon helipad in accordance with approved flight procedures.”

But helicopter traffic remains a concern around that busy airport. The FAA said that three flights that had been cleared for landing Sunday at Reagan were ordered to go around because a police helicopter was on an urgent mission in the area. All three flights landed safely on their second approaches.

The NTSB said after the January crash that there had been an alarming number of close calls near Reagan in recent years, and the FAA should have acted sooner.

Investigators have highlighted 85 close calls around Reagan airport in the three years before the crash that should have signaled a growing safety problem. FAA officials said they did analyze every close call but missed the alarming trend.

Since then, the FAA launched a review of data at airports nationwide with heavy helicopter traffic that identified safety concerns at the Las Vegas airport related to all the helicopter tours there. That review is ongoing.

Reuters first reported the pause in Army helicopter flights.

In New Jersey on Monday, flight delays and cancellations persisted at Newark Liberty International Airport. The FAA attributed arriving flight delays of nearly four hours to a combination of an air traffic controller shortage, thick cloud cover and antiquated air traffic control equipment that needs to be upgraded.

Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed to this report from Omaha, Nebraska.

The study, which began in August, is evaluating building a roadway within an existing right of way along Calumet Avenue between 141st Street and 143rd Street, according to Jesse Elam, director of strategic planning and policy for the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways.

“Anything beats nothing,” Dixmoor Mayor Fitzgerald Roberts said. “So the grant is doing a study on it, where we can pretty much make a throughway to get around these trains. I think it’s a great move and I have great respect that they’re trying to help us with this. It’s been going on for so many years.”

The county earmarked $95,000 for the study, funded through Invest in Cook, a grant program that supports transportation projects at different stages including planning, engineering, land acquisition and construction, according to the county’s website.

Although the village applied for the grant, Elam said the county is handling the study directly under an existing consulting contract, rather than going through the typical grant approval process.

The study is funded with state motor fuel tax revenues shared with the county, Elam said.

Elam said the county has explored the feasibility of building a connecting roadway under the interstate and is now reviewing property records to determine ownership and how it might affect the project.

After the study is completed, the county will share the findings with the village and decide on next steps, Elam said.

“We want to get it done as fast as we can, but the property research part of it turned out a little more complicated than we hoped, so I think that’s really the sort of critical path item there,” Elam said. “So we hope to be able to wrap that up in the next couple months.”

The village applied for the grant in 2024 after identifying an unused right of way that could improve access to neighborhoods east of Western Avenue, Roberts said. The road is in disrepair, covered in gravel and overgrown weeds, he said.

“We looked at an old map that showed that we had Calumet Avenue going through there,” Roberts said. “We went on to find out that one of the mayors back in the day sold it or something, but it’s not on a tax roll. It hasn’t been placed on a tax roll. So basically, we want our street back.”

The project aims to create an alternate route for residents and emergency vehicles, Elam said, particularly for those in mobile home parks along Western Avenue where residents are often trapped when trains block both rail crossings at the same time.

The roadway will provide a backdoor entrance to the Colonial Estates Mobile Home Park near 142nd Street and Western Avenue, Elam said.

If the roadway proves feasible, Roberts said the village will need assistance funding construction.

According to the county, the feasibility study will also help identify potential funding sources and grants for engineering and construction.

While blocked crossings impede residents at crossings on Wood Street and Robey Avenue, residents told the Daily Southtown the problem is worse along Western Avenue, where tracks intersect the road in the 139th and 145th blocks.

Roberts said the proposed route won’t fully solve the problem, as there are other crossings without an easy route to get around the stalled trains, but called it a first step toward addressing an issue that has affected residents for years.

“We’ll be able to get from one side to the other side when the train is there,” Roberts said. “But it’s not going to completely solve it because if we have, per se, two trains on the track, you’re still gonna be blocked one way. So we’re still gonna need help.”

There is no federal statute or regulation that sets a specific time limit on how long trains can block grade crossings, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. That limits the actions the agency can take.

Meanwhile, trains have become longer due to precision scheduled railroading — a strategy used by freight rail companies to boost profits, lower operating costs and streamline service, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Roberts said he plans to seek support from legislators to help secure funding for the route and others that would allow residents to bypass stalled trains.

“There’s a lot of pieces to this, to make this project complete,” Roberts said. “This is just the first phase of getting it off the ground.”

smoilanen@chicagotribune.com

A school bus, transporting suburban high school students and traveling westbound, stopped at a red light in the 3900 block of West 111th Street about 7:30 a.m., police said. A 64-year-old man driving an SUV attempted a right turn in front of the bus, and the bus struck the vehicle’s passenger side, police said. 

In all, 19 people were transported to area hospitals in fair condition, police said. 

Six students and the two drivers were taken to OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center. Six students were transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and five students to Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago. 

Josh Barron, superintendent of Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, said by Friday afternoon that all students on the bus during the crash were released from the hospital, and that some had returned to the classroom.

Police said citations against the SUV’s driver are pending.

Nonstop service to Curacao; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Maarten; Guatemala City, Guatemala; and San José, Costa Rica, will launch in November and December. The Guatemala City flight will operate year-round, while the others will be seasonal winter flights.

The airline is also adding year-round nonstop service to Roanoke, Virginia, and Akron/Canton, Ohio, beginning in September and October. The new flights can be booked beginning Monday.

After the pandemic, American prioritized restoring service at its southern hubs, according to Brian Znotins, senior vice president of network planning. That’s because travelers in the South resumed flying more quickly, and they frequently sought out trips to warm-weather destinations.

But this year, American is adding service to 17 new destinations from O’Hare, including flights to Honolulu, Madrid, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. This summer, the airline says it will offer 25% more seats on flights out of O’Hare than it did last summer.

“Chicago is the third-biggest (metropolitan statistical area) in the country. It’s a pretty key business market. We’ve been very eager to court corporate travelers and business travelers,” Znotins said. “We’re really excited to be growing it back.”

In addition to the new flights, American said that this year it will increase existing service from O’Hare to destinations including Aruba; Cancun, Mexico; Grand Cayman; and Nassau, Bahamas. Between the increased service on current routes and the new destinations, the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline says it will double its capacity to warm-weather destinations from O’Hare next winter.

The 4700 block was supposed to be closed to vehicular access for a week, to accommodate construction work on the Western Avenue Brown Line station, a nearby public plaza and a parking lot. However, a damaged brick vault found during construction extended the closure until May 7.

Islam and others have taken advantage of the extended closure, turning the area into a gathering spot. On Sunday, dozens of people poured into the area to sit on benches in the middle of the street and chalk in parking spots normally reserved for cars.

“I’ve been in Chicago for over five years now, and I have met more of my neighbors in the past seven days than I had in my entire time, just sitting out there, hanging out,” said Islam, who serves on the board of the Heart of Lincoln Square Neighbors Association and helped build benches for neighbors to use during the closure.

The blocked-off area — and what neighbors have transformed it into — has raised questions about whether the car-free zone is here to stay, with some taking to social media to either express their support for a permanent closure or to advocate against one.

The Heart of Lincoln Square Neighbors Association put out a survey about pedestrianizing the area. The association is still collecting data, but according to Islam, over 900 people have responded since April 23, with 68% of respondents saying they strongly support greater pedestrianization of the block.

While some expressed satisfaction with the car-free zone, others have noted challenges that would come if the street were permanently closed to traffic. Some business owners on the corridor say their shops are taking a blow due to the construction and that a permanent car-free zone would only hurt them further.

Businesses owners said they faced a loss of parking spaces outside their shops, limited access for delivery drivers, and trash overflow, since sanitation trucks could not come down the corridor. While temporary solutions have been found, such as having a flagger let in trucks for deliveries, whether a permanent street closure could work is difficult for some business owners to envision.

In response to the discussions about a permanent closure, the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce started collecting data from businesses in the area of reported sales changes during the week of the closure compared with the previous week. So far, about half of the area’s businesses have responded, and the results have shown a mixed impact.

Nine businesses said sales decreased between 26% and 50% during the street closure’s first week. Two businesses said sales were down 51% to 75%, and two said sales decreased 11% to 25%. On the other side, three businesses said sales went up 26% to 50%, three said their sales increased 1% to 10%, and two said sales went up 51% to 75%. Three more businesses said their sales remained steady.

In total, 24 businesses have completed the survey so far. The survey data was collected on Monday and Tuesday, although businesses that weren’t open on those days are also allowed to respond. The chamber of commerce plans to collect data again next Monday.

“We were really surprised because during the week we’re hearing, as a business organization, about the negative impact businesses are facing and thinking, ‘Oh gosh, this sounds terrible,’ and then the weekend happened and obviously, results changed for some,” said Rudy Flores, CEO of the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.

More data and intentional studies are needed to properly assess the impact of a street closure on businesses, Flores said, but the data collected thus far suggests restaurants experienced a more positive impact.

“We’ve had our busiest weekend this year, because I think we mostly cater to families and a lot of young kids, so most of them are enjoying no cars,” said Tom Quackenbush, assistant general manager of Willow Cafe and Bistro. “We’ve been packed all weekend, actually. It was maybe a little (slower) earlier in the week, because it was kind of rainy and gross, but those probably would have been slow days anyway.”

Retail stores, on the other hand, appeared to be hurt a little bit more due to the closure.

“Our business this year, going from the week before Easter to the week after Easter, we were down 15%, whereas last year we were up that week,” said Scott Friedland, owner of Timeless Toys. He noted that was also a decrease in foot traffic during the week, whereas the weekend saw much more foot traffic, in part because of nicer weather and people hearing about the street closure through media coverage.

While last weekend ended up being one of Timeless Toys’ best weekends for sales, Friedland said he worries about the long-term impact of a permanent street closure.

“Poor weather really, really impacts our business already. If people don’t have access to park outside of our business, it keeps people away during that poor weather,” Friedland said, emphasizing how his business also needs those parking spaces during the holiday season, when people are making bigger purchases. Over half of Timeless Toys’ clientele also comes from outside the neighborhood, including from other states, which further underscored for him the need to have those parking spaces, Friedland said.

Derek Luszcz, co-owner of Gene’s Sausage Shop & Delicatessen, said he was in a similar situation. About half of the people who shop at his business come from suburbs and other parts of the city. He worries that since people come to his shop for groceries, people who have to park far away will not want to carry their groceries three to four blocks, deterring some people from shopping at his store.

“It’s really hard. You also have to look at handicapped people, elderly people that are not going to carry a very heavy grocery bag two blocks either way to take their groceries,” Luszcz said, emphasizing that item counts were down the past week because of the closure. He also noted that his store can’t currently fulfill curbside orders.

“We’re not against public spaces. I just don’t think that on a commercial strip of Lincoln Avenue is a good place to (do it),” Luszcz said.

Keeping the area clean has also been a challenge. Dena Jo Pavlovic, store manager for the gift shop Enjoy Urban General and a chamber of commerce board member, said there has been overflow from trash cans. She said she she’d picked up trash outside her store, including cans and food containers.

Similarly, Flores was surprised at how much trash overflow there has been and expects similar levels of trash next weekend. “That was kind of sad to see because we really hope that people care enough about their community to keep it tidy and clean,” Flores said.

The Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce did a parking study in 2023 and found that the 4700 block of North Lincoln Avenue has 45 parking spaces, which tend to fill up to 100% capacity during weekdays, though that drops to 80% to 90% between 3 and 5 p.m. Similarly, during the weekend, those parking spaces start to fill up to 100% capacity around 11 a.m., lasting until the end of the day.

Flores also noted that while more data is needed, it appears that people who park their cars typically do not park on that block for more than 30 minutes, suggesting that the parking turnover rate is high.

Despite the decreased parking spaces, some people still drove to Lincoln Avenue to enjoy the street closure Sunday.

“I love the street closure and I don’t think it’s taking away that much space,” Michelle Duncan, who lives in Avondale, said. “I drove here and I just walked a couple of blocks.”

Duncan spent the day chalking on the sidewalk and wanted to come out after hearing that others were creating chalk art. On Sunday, she was drawing a dinosaur from “Jurassic Park,” inspired by her daughter, who she said loves the film. As she was drawing, a couple of kids came up to her and started playing with her chalk. She taught them how to layer the colors.

“You don’t come home clean from this,” she said as she demonstrated.

Zak Patterson, co-owner of nearby business Bunny Ears Art House and founder of nonprofit SlowStreets, also welcomed the idea of a more permanent street closure. Last week, he took his 8-year-old in-line skating in the street on a school night, he said. She skated around the area until 9:30 p.m., which Patterson said was well past her bedtime.

“It’s hard to put into words how happy this makes me,” Patterson said, pointing to children Hula-Hooping and exploring the area as their parents watched them. Unlike in a park, Patterson said, he can buy a coffee and interact with others as his children roam and play. “I don’t feel like there’s anything comparable to it,” he said.

Michelle Huey, who used to live in Lincoln Square but now lives in Andersonville, felt similarly. The early childhood educator was sitting on a bench Sunday as she read a book and said that she was considering buying a coffee being out there, something she would not normally do.

“I’d love for this to stay open,” Huey said. “I love seeing all the families out. We need more spaces where families and adults can hang out. This is a space everyone can be, for free.”

While the debate over the street closure and whether to turn it into a more permanent fixture has captivated neighbors, Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said that the first step should be to focus on finishing the construction.

“Let’s get this work done as quickly as possible,” Martin said. “Let’s cut the ribbon on the improvements that are underway, and then let’s continue conversations about how to complement an already incredibly dynamic stretch of Lincoln Avenue in the heart of Lincoln Square.”

The move comes as state lawmakers scrambled to cut millions from the state budget Thursday after a revenue forecast projecting a $2.4 billion shortfall.

An amendment to House Bill 1142, approved on Thursday, requires the Gary City Council to terminate the Compact by 2030.

The language on the termination was a late addition into House Bill 1142, which addressed tax fiscal matters.

Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, was listed as a sponsor on House Bill 1142, but he was one of just three senators who voted against the bill which passed 47-3.

In the House, Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, was the lone dissenting vote on the bill that passed 78-1.

Earlier, House Bill 1001, the state budget bill, called for the city council to terminate the compact by Jan. 1, 2026.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said via a statement Friday the legislation caught him off guard.

“Thanks to a Northwest Indiana delegation downstate, this mandate has been pushed back by five years, but the potential consequences remain severe,” Melton said.

“If enacted as originally intended, we would risk losing millions of dollars in funding from our Compact agreement with Chicago, as well as critical FAA grants that sustain our airport’s day-to-day operations.

“This legislative move is especially troubling in light of the growing investment in and around the airport that my administration has been able to accomplish within my first 14 months in office. One major project, a $40 million development, set to begin this year, is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to Gary and Northwest Indiana.

“This sends mixed messages to the private sector and could jeopardize our partnership with Chicago.”

Melton said he plans to work with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Compact members to determine the best path forward.

“We will not be deterred in our commitment to protecting the economic future of Gary,” Melton said.

Gary City Council president Lori Latham, D-1, said in a statement the council didn’t become aware of the compact termination language until Thursday — the final day of the legislative session.

“We are closely reviewing this bill, its impact, and all legislation affecting Gary and will be engaging Gary residents on our evaluation and next steps.”

A Gary council member voiced disapproval of the earlier language Thursday when it called for a council vote to terminate the Compact by Jan. 1, 2026.

“I would not vote in favor of dissolving the Compact,” said Councilman Darren Washington, D-at-large. “It’s been beneficial in bringing money to the airport.”

Washington, who heads the council legislative committee, said he’s concerned lawmakers would enact legislation without talking to city officials.

Randolph said Friday he added his name to House Bill 1142 because he was told the Compact termination language would be removed.

“The point is I didn’t find out about them putting it back in and giving them five years… They decided to take control of the airport and the airport belongs to the city.”

Randolph didn’t know who inserted the language, but said it came from the House.

“There’s somebody behind it, I don’t know who it is and somebody has an ulterior motive… That’s why I voted against it.”

The compact has been in existence since 1995 when former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley and former Gary mayor Scott King forged the pact, aimed at creating a regional approach to air transportation.

“In substance and symbol,” Daley said, “it reflects the fact that we are one economy, one region, working together.”

Officials credited Chicago’s influence with the 2003 creation of a deal that brought Boeing’s corporate fleet to the Gary airport.

The bi-state agreement preserved Chicago’s control of revenue from O’Hare and Midway airport and it called for Gary’s airport to receive more than $1 million for three years, doubling its annual budget. Chicago also promised to market Gary and steer cargo and passenger air carriers toward Gary.

Over a decade, Chicago pumped $14 million into the Gary airport.

“The city of Chicago has given more money to the airport than the state of Indiana,” Daley said in 2005 while lobbying former Gov. Mitch Daniels for the successful creation of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority to boost airport development.

That same year, the legislature also revamped the airport authority leaving Gary still in control, but adding representatives from Lake and Porter counties and overseen by a chairman appointed by the governor.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. 

The project will expand the roadway, which stretches from Runge Street in Franklin Park to York Road in Bensenville, as part of a ongoing toll road I-490/IL-390 project to connect to O’Hare International Airport.

That project is slated to cost $534 million and is intended to improve access to the west side of O’Hare, thereby improving the immediate surrounding areas, according to Illinois Tollway.

The Franklin Avenue/Green Street portion will widen to allow the industrial corridor to accommodate more traffic, offer more pedestrian amenities and help truck access into a nearby railyard. The scope of the project should aid commuters and residents as well as commercial freight trucks driving from the airport to the train depot.

“[Companies] will be able to use interstates for more of their trucks,” said Nathan Roseberry, assistant superintendent of the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways. “We’ll be going from a two-lane to a five-lane road on Franklin Street.”

With a new highway comes more demand on local surface routes. Due to the convergence of nearly all types of transportation hubs, updating the whole corridor is essential for shipping, officials said.

“The yard is directly adjacent to the airport, so you have air, rail and trucks all coexisting,” Roseberry said.

The project also will provide more traffic signals, bike and pedestrian lanes, landscape restoration, sewer repairs and curb upgrades for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project is expected to cost $34.5 million with the money coming from Cook County, Bensenville, Franklin Park, the tollway and the federal government. The project kicks off in coming weeks and will wrap up in 2027, though most of the construction will be finished in 2026, officials said.

Drivers can expect some traffic delays during the work and Roseberry said residents can check progress on the county’s website.

“This one is a large enough project where we have a stand-alone page where we’ll have updates,” he said. The website can be found by searching Green Street and Franklin Avenue Improvement Project.

Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

The village held an open house specifically targeting the stretch of La Grange Road from Brewster Avenue north to 31st Street. The Illinois Department of Transportation owns the road and any changes would require its approval.

The village partnered with Kimley-Horne and Associates for preliminary engineering plans.

“They come up with this plan and the main focus is safety on La Grange Road from Homestead to Woodlawn. Safety is number one,” Village President James Discipio said.

Discipio said the village would like to see the speed limit reduced by 5 mph to be consistent with La Grange and Countryside, and also wants better access for emergency vehicles off of Woodlawn onto La Grange Road.

Kimley-Horne produced several viewing stations focusing on preliminary design concepts under consideration:

• Replacing the existing striped median at the Homestead-La Grange Road intersection with a raised landscaped median to provide a pedestrian refuge.
• Exploring the possibility of adjusting the traffic light at Homestead and La Grange Road with a leading pedestrian interval to give pedestrians a head start when crossing.
• The possibility of installing a traffic signal at La Grange Road and Woodlawn to improve pedestrian safety for residents crossing to Memorial Park.
• Widening La Grange Road between Homestead and Woodlawn to accommodate the raised medians.

But the main topic was the dangers posed by speeding on La Grange Road and the possibility of lowering the speed limit.

La Grange Park petitioned IDOT to lower the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph, submitting crash data July 17, 2024, that showed 12 vehicle accidents, one pedestrian accident and one involving a bicycle between 2017 and 2021 at La Grange Road and Homestead Avenue.

Further north, at La Grange Road and Woodlawn Avenue, there were 35 vehicle accidents and two pedestrian accidents in the same time period, the data show.

La Grange Road is already the busiest roadway in the village, and includes the Village Market Shopping Center, Plymouth Place Senior Living, the La Grange Park Public Library, Memorial Park and nearby entities, such as Village Hall, Jewel-Osco and Homestead Apartments.

Traffic moving north from La Grange, with its 25 mph speed limit, tended to speed up while traffic coming south from Westchester often failed to slow from the 40 mph limit there, officials said.

New additions to the area, including Andy’s Frozen Custard and Aldi, have been popular with residents and made traffic congestion even worse, officials said.

But IDOT rejected any decrease in speed limit formally requested, pointing to its own study concluding the 30 mph limit was appropriate, citing a 94% anticipated speed limit violation rate, meaning the problem was enforcement.

One resident, Melanie Dawe, spoke out about safety on La Grange Road.

“The speed limit, the light and really the whole traffic flow needs to be made safer,” Dawe said.

Bonnie Wedster agreed.

“I walk a lot and bike a lot,” she said. “I go to Trader Joe’s to shop, but I’m not going to bike any where close to La Grange Road. … People go way too fast on La Grange Road. It’s not safe for anybody that’s not in a car.”

Tom Land lives directly across La Grange Road from Andy’s Custard and stressed that whatever the speed lmit was, better enforcement was needed.

“We really don’t see the amount of enforcement we think there should be,” Land said. “You can get up at 7 a.m. and see semi-trucks and trucks full of gravel doing 45-50 mph down La Grange Road. That continues throughout the day and into the night when people are peeling out of Andy’s and essentially drag racing down La Grange Road.”

Trustee Mike Sheehan said he was impressed with the residents comments, and noted a planned trip April 29 to the state Capitol by Discipio, Village Manager Julia Cedillo and Trustee Bob Lautner to lobby IDOT for the speed limit reduction.

“Judging from the turnout there’s a lot of interest,” Sheehan said. “I know they’re working on going down to Springfield next week, the slogan is ‘take five’ to try and get IDOT to lower the speed limit 5 mph. We have to make this area more pedestrian friendly.”

Discipio stressed any change in that stretch of La Grange Road was up to IDOT.

“It’s their road,” he said. “We can’t do anything without IDOT’s approval.”

More information on the Traffic Safety Improvement Project can be found at lagrangepark.org.

Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

Worries about China’s economic activity and research and development are rampant. President Donald Trump has raised national security concerns and imposed tariffs on the Asian nation, at least for now. U.S. automotive executives have expressed fears that their products can’t compete against the low-cost, digital-savvy offerings of Chinese manufacturers. China is rapidly achieving advancements in artificial intelligence, microchips and other breakthrough technologies.

Smart roads, argues John Murphy, the analyst, could do what automobiles and, particularly, their mass adoption from the assembly line did for economic activity in the early 20th Century. By creating more efficient traffic flows — from vehicles being able to communicate with each other and infrastructure like street lights to designated lanes for vehicles that could travel at higher speeds, and live information rerouting traffic when there’s an accident, construction or other congestion — people could travel longer distances in shorter amounts of time and improve productivity.

“When you look at what China has done over the last few decades, getting people into vehicles so they’re driving, they’re moving farther, faster and more frequently, that’s where you saw very significant economic growth in China,” Murphy told The Detroit News. “The more miles that are driven, the more things that are going on, and the more economic activity there is.”

The mass market for private automobiles in China grew starting in the late 20th century. By 2010, vehicle sales there surpassed those of the United States, making it the largest vehicle market globally. It was estimated there were 353 million registered vehicles in China at the end of 2024.

But a larger percentage of people in the United States still have vehicles compared to China. Last year, the country had 223 vehicles per 1,000 people. The United States had 860. Between 1990 and 2022, China averaged substantial economic growth of almost 9% per year, peaking at more than 14% in some years. The U.S. economy grew at 2.8% last year. China’s grew at 5%.

Christopher Tang, faculty director at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Center for Global Management, said China’s economy already was growing when vehicles sales began increasing, but it created a greater need for transportation, resulting in the country opening the way for Volkswagen AG and others that followed to partner with domestic manufacturers to build and sell vehicles in China.

“That’s why China was the biggest car market in the world at the time, because the economy is booming, and they need transportation,” he said during a recent National Press Foundation webinar. “They needed to get things moving.”

Innovation isn’t an easy concept to measure, but looking at patents, China is outpacing the rest of the world, said Marco Richter, senior director of intellectual property analytics and strategy for LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions. Over the past decade, 54% of active patents had an investor’s address listed in China.

Murphy asserts China’s growth in personal transportation accelerated the country’s economic activity. Meanwhile, here in the United States since the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act that created the interstate highway system, U.S. roads and how quickly Americans can travel on them has remained relatively stagnant, he said.

“The (automotive) industry has, in my opinion, a bit of an identity crisis, and is not understanding what its product actually is and the utility that it delivers to consumers,” Murphy said. “Its simple reason for being is to get people from A to B as quickly as possible, safely and cost effectively.”

He added: “We have stalled a key driver of our economy, and that’s people moving forward faster and more frequently.”

Internet-connected vehicle technology, advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving make this even more feasible, Murphy said. He outlined examples of a traffic light changing based on information sent from incoming traffic, a vehicle rerouting in anticipation of conditions ripe for an accident and designated high-speed expressway lanes that could allow travel of 100 mph or even 200 mph because of vehicles being able to communicate with each other and objects around them.

The result could be people spreading out more than they can today, potentially even paving the way for a heartland resurgence, Murphy said: “There’s plenty of land in the middle of this country that a lot of people don’t want to go to, because it’s hard to get to, but if it becomes a lot easier to get to, then that land starts to open up and become available to a lot more people.”

If there’s a particularly progressive governor or state leaders in this area, and it results in boosted economic activity, it could cause others to follow, Murphy said, adding that a vehicle that has offerings in this area also could be a differentiator and value creator for automakers.

“In reality right now, a Honda Accord versus a Mercedes S Class, they’re functionally the same product at the moment, because you get to the same place in the same amount of time,” Murphy said. “But if, for some reason, you buy a $100,000 or $150,000 car that can get you there twice as fast, you’re pretty happy to pay that money, or more people would be happy to pay that money, because it saves you time.”

This concept, however, could raise safety concerns. There were close to 40,000 traffic fatalities last year, a 3.8% decrease from 2023, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates. The rate, however, remains above pre-pandemic years. Speed is one contributor.

There are examples of connected vehicles, ADAS and other smart road technologies improving safety, said Mark Chung, executive vice president of safety leadership and advocacy at the National Safety Council, a nonprofit focused on supporting health and safety. But the deployment of autonomous vehicles on roads with human drivers can create scenarios a robot has never before seen, mandating extensive testing, he said.

Add on top of that higher speeds, and the technology just isn’t there yet, Chung said. The largest automotive lobby group is suing the U.S. Transportation Department over requirements on automatic emergency braking, arguing they’re too stringent for the state of the technology to perform reliably at night and higher speeds.

“No matter how advanced the AI or the AVs are, and the communication networks are, these vehicles, and all of us humans in them, are bound to the fundamental laws of motion,” Chung said, “which basically says that the kinetic energy that is generated through speed — a vehicle traveling 100 miles an hour as an example — if that vehicle crashes into something, it’s got four times the kinetic energy as one that is going at 50 miles an hour. The amount of energy that is required to then stop the vehicle, or maybe reorient the vehicle to maneuver it, it will take a tremendous amount of energy and technological progress for us to get there.”

He added: “If we think about a collision happening at 100 miles an hour, it will certainly be catastrophic.”

Murphy agreed that work would need to be done to make high-speed travel safe, from barriers for the lanes and advancements in technologies like emergency braking.

“There’s certainly reasons to be concerned with safety,” he said, “but you by no stretch of the imagination can say that we’re not going to do something because we’re only fearful of safety. You have to solve that safety issue, because otherwise you’re not advancing society.”

There are also other obstacles like costs, regulations, and the need to get many parties, from the auto industry to government agencies to technology companies, to work together. Additionally, related projects could require extensive work. A bold shot would be legislation similar to the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, but for smart roads, Murphy said.

“It’s not really a moonshot,” he said. “It would be a terrestrial shot.”

Plus, the auto industry has low margins and is investing significant amounts already in electrification and other technologies. And limited range already is hampering the adoption of electric vehicles that U.S. automotive executives say are the future of the industry. Today’s EVs don’t have the capacity for long-distance, high-speed travel, unless there’s a breakthrough in that technology, Murphy said.

There, however, are pockets of examples in which companies and governments are seeking to leverage technology to facilitate safer, more efficient travel. Perhaps one of the most advanced examples is the Michigan Transportation Department’s collaboration with smart road startup Cavnue LLC.

Dubbed the “world’s most sophisticated roadway,” construction in 2023 began on a smart lane along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 94 in Wayne County from Haggerty to Rawsonville roads. It’s a pilot for a greater vision of a high-tech corridor from Ann Arbor to Detroit. Cavnue is paying for the pilot, which it estimated in 2023 to cost $10 million.

The left lane designated with a boundary separator for the other lanes is open and usable to the public except when MDOT, Cavnue and other partners like automakers and suppliers are using it for testing during off-peak times. Cavnue installed its smart road platform that includes cameras, sensors and other technologies to collect data on what is happening on the road.

MDOT is then looking at how it can use that information to communicate messages more quickly to motorists or vehicles themselves, like when there’s an accident, congestion or a wrong-way driver, which may cause them to go another way. The system could also help with maintenance in identifying potholes or other issues to be fixed more quickly.

“We are reviewing the data coming off of it,” said Michele Mueller, MDOT’s manager of connected, automated vehicles and electrification. “We’re evaluating what it is to determine where does it fit, where could it fit and what’s the value to us from what we have today.”

Particularly looking at automated driving, the system potentially could allow for smaller distances between vehicles that’s mandated in the vehicle code and increase capacity on roads or help determine whether lanes can be built at smaller widths than the current 12 feet, Mueller said.

The pilot successfully detected incidents and road hazards on I-94 during testing, Cavnue CEO Tyler Duvall said in an email. He said there’s enormous potential for the United States to lead in intelligent infrastructure right now.

“Cavnue absolutely shares John Murphy’s view that smart-road infrastructure is a strategic lever for economic growth, productivity, and competitiveness,” he wrote. “A connected, high-speed, digitally managed corridor network doesn’t just move vehicles more efficiently — it unlocks entirely new transportation models that can reduce congestion, improve safety, increase freight reliability, and expand economic growth.”

There isn’t a focus during the pilot on freight transportation, and vehicles like semitrucks don’t have access to the Cavnue lane at this point. But MDOT is having conversations with that industry as well as transit agencies about how to leverage the technology for their applications.

MDOT isn’t looking at adjusting the speed limit for the lane at this time either, but Mueller said down the line, perhaps that could be examined through the processes the department has in place for assessing whether to increase or decrease speed limits.

Duvall said he does see a future in which dedicated lanes for connected and autonomous vehicles can support higher-speed travel, but only when technology, the regulatory environment and human behavior align to support it.”Cavnue is actively exploring how infrastructure can safely support speed differentials through intelligent lane management, dynamic signage, and real-time feedback loops,” he wrote. “That said, higher speeds must always be balanced with safety and must evolve in step with government oversight and public confidence.”

Conversations between MDOT and Cavnue are also ongoing about a long-term agreement of probably around 10 years for the corridor, Mueller said, though nothing has been signed at this point. Eventually, motorists could have to pay a toll or user fee for it.

From May 14 to May 23, travelers will be rerouted to Cicero Avenue, accessed through Southwest Highway on the north side of the tracks and 95th Street on the south side.

The crossing is just north of Advocate Christ Medical Center, and serves as a “critical route” for ambulances and other emergency vehicles, Demetrios Skoufis, senior legislative and community affairs liaison for Metra, said at Tuesday’s Village Board meeting. He said Metra is working to notify emergency responders and requested extra assistance from the village to do so.

“We’ve done this hundreds of times before throughout our region, and this is not the only crossing in close proximity to a hospital or something like that,” Skoufis said. “It’s Metra employees performing the work to rehab the crossing, which essentially is the removal of all the existing infrastructure.”

Skoufis pointed to other similar projects completed in Oak Lawn, including at Central Avenue in September 2024, 95th Street in June 2021 and Cicero Avenue in April 2015. Two weeks before putting up detour signs at 9 a.m. on May 14, traffic control contractors will install signs warning of the crossing closure, he said.

The $450,000 project on the Southwest Service is part of a larger plan to replace 43 crossings at locations across the Chicago area in 2025, according to Metra.

Lead pipe removal

Oak Lawn is also taking steps to replace about 2,300 decades-old lead pipes to comply with Environmental Protection Agency requirements, with service expected to begin in August.

Engineering and advisory firm TY Lin was hired to manage the five-year project. Catharine Richardson, the project manager, told the board the firm is working to receive an EPA loan to cover the costs, which will be confirmed July 1. The village has yet to approve a contractor to replace about 400 service lines this year.

“There’s going to be a lot of questions,” Richardson said. “This is a project where we do go onto private property. In fact, we have to get into people’s homes.”

Richardson said people not interested in having their pipes replaced can go through a process to waive service. Each project is expected to take 2 days, with the firm and contractors working directly with residents. They will also survey water quality after replacing the pipes.

Homes built before 1986 are those likely to have lead pipes, Richardson said. The first notification letter to affected residents will be delivered 45 days ahead of construction.

“This is a huge investment, and it’s going to be some inconvenience for folks, but this is really an important thing to do,” Richardson said.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com