Sexy Talk about the Train and the Tunnel

Sledding on the Intersate

Two things happened during the middle of the 1960s. The federal government built Interstate 80 and Interstate 57 through Tinley Park, and I got a driver's license. The driver's license came first but we got to enjoy those highways even though they weren't finished. I remember in the winter, sledding down the embankments where I-57 and I-80 came together. One time I even snuck onto the unfinished interstate with my old 1935 Studebaker. Not that I could go very fast, top speed of the Studebaker was around 45mph. What we had there was a major government building project financed by our taxes. As far as I could tell, nobody complained. We loved those highways. Somewhere, between the 1960s and present time, Americans got tired of paying for infrastructure. A lot of folks are pissed off because they raised the gasoline tax in Illinois. It hadn't been raised since 1990. Back in 1967, when those Interstates were being built, gasoline was 33 cents per gallon. Gasoline tax in Illinois was 6 cents, or almost 19% of that price. Yesterday I paid $2.80 per gallon for gasoline. Of that, 38 cents was Illinois gasoline tax, or about 13%. So quit it with the damn whining everybody.

Every week I pass under this viaduct, the Red Line passes over it. I am truly scared to get caught in traffic and be stuck under that thing. It is crumbling before our eyes, and that didn't just start happening. On Google Streets I can see that it was patched up and crumbling way back in 2007. So I watch the traffic signal half a block ahead. If I see it turning red, I slow down until I can see where the car in front of me is going to stop. I will not stop under that bridge if I can help it. Yesterday I misjudged and got stuck half under the bridge and half out. Adding to my fear of being crushed, the Red Line Train roared by overhead shaking bits and pieces of concrete off. So Governor Pritzger, take my 38 cents, please. And fix that goddamned bridge.

Hollywood Avenue Viaduct