PARIS, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) — With an on-going national effort to promote alternative fuel, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he hopes to have 750,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030.
To help with that initiative, signs will be hung on state interstates promoting existing charging stations within a certain proximity.
“Illinois wants to continue, as I assume Indiana would, to be the leading corridor from East to West in the United States. To help promote that, we want folks driving these newer EV’s and eventual AV’s to know where there’s a charging station in the state of Illinois,” Christopher Schmidt with IDOT said.
Dustin Ogle, a Paris, Illinois resident, stated charging his Tesla often requires a trip to Indiana. It’s his hope that the state’s initiative kickstarts cities into building more charge stations.
“To have them locally would be able to reduce the amount of time needed to get those things done. If I only had to got to Marshall for instance instead of all the way to Terre Haute, you know they could it cut it down to and hour and a half of my time. It’d make life a little easier, ” Ogle said.
Requirements for a charge station to be built in Illinois include being 5 miles away from a corridor and having ample plug-ins. Illinois has designated the construction and placement of charge stations to its respective cities.
“To have more stations available gives you more options. When you can stop and what you want to d o when you stop. I think for E.V. owners it’d be a big help. Just like with gas stations on every exit possible, it’d give the decision on when to stop and what to do when you’re there,” Ogle said.
Nationwide, the Federal Highway Administration has designated 145,000 miles of interstate for promoting alternative fuels. In Illinois, Interstates 39, 55, 70, 74, 80, 90 and 94 were identified to take part.
“It would not be a surprise to me that in the next year or two, I-70 through Indiana and Ohio will be something designated as electric vehicle ready and will have signs along the interstate,” Schmidt said.
In the coming weeks, blue “Alternative Fuels Corridor” signs will be installed along each corridor.
