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This Traffic Jam Brought to You by Cisco

If you have a few million dollars lying around, and if you've always wanted your name attached to an unsightly, congested roadway, has Chicago got ...

bridge-1.jpg If you have a few million dollars lying around, and if you've always wanted your name attached to an unsightly, congested roadway, has Chicago got a deal for you!

The city is auctioning off naming rights for the Chicago Skyway, the 7.8-mile long, 125-foot high toll road built in 1958. The naming-rights plan, says the Chicago Tribune, is unique:

The plan has raised eyebrows. While naming rights are nothing new in the world of professional sports or even in municipal government, it's never been tried successfully with a crowded toll road before.

Of course, the big question here is what happens when, say, there's a massive accident with 20 fatalities on the Coca-Cola Highway?  Or how good is the publicity if there's a carjacking on the General Electric Freeway?

Chicago's continuing undaunted, though. City officials are already budgeting $3 million in naming-rights revenue for next year. They'd better hope they find some takers.

Photo via Flickr, from Daniel Montesinos.

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
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