JOLIET, Ill. — Illinois has announced a six-year, $1.2 billion plan to rebuild Interstate 80 in Will County.
According to a news release from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office, the project will replace more than 50-year-old infrastructure and create thousands of construction and permanent jobs.
“This rebuild will transform 16 miles of I-80, redesign auxiliary lanes and interchanges to reduce congestion, and rehabilitate over 30 bridges along the roadway,” Pritzker said in the news release.
“These overdue improvements will not only make it safer for commercial drivers, but for the thousands of families who rely on I-80 to commute to work, drive their kids to school, and move safely through their daily lives.”
As one of the country’s three coast-to-coast interstates, I-80 through Joliet and Will County carries approximately 80,000 vehicles a day, about 25% of which are trucks, according to the governor’s office.
“Due to the outdated design and capacity restraints, congestion as well as frequent merging and weaving are common,” the governor’s news release stated. “To shorten the construction timeline, several project components and land acquisition efforts will be done concurrently to deliver a cornerstone project of Rebuild Illinois more quickly, with less impact to the public.”
Starting next year, the section from Ridge Road to the DuPage River will be under construction as land acquisition progresses and final engineering is completed on the replacement of the Des Plaines River bridges. Improvements will begin from Ridge Road to U.S. 30 in 2023, leaving construction of the Des Plaines River bridges and Center Street and U.S. 52/Illinois 53 (Chicago Street) interchanges in 2026 and 2027.
Advance work on I-80 started this summer with a $41.7 million project to replace the eastbound bridges over Hickory Creek, Richards Street, Rowell Avenue/Canadian National Railroad, and westbound over Richards Street, in Joliet, Rockdale and New Lenox, while widening eastbound I-80 from Gardner Street to Rowell Avenue. Once the eastbound improvements are completed next year, similar improvements will begin in the westbound direction.
When it wraps up in 2027, the overall I-80 project will have redesigned and rebuilt 16 miles from Ridge Road, in Minooka, to U.S. 30, in Joliet and New Lenox, while adding or extending auxiliary lanes to improve safety and reduce congestion.
Interchanges will have been rebuilt or improved at Interstate 55, Illinois 7, Center Street, Chicago Street, Richards Street and Briggs Street, with a new flyover ramp linking southbound I-55 to westbound I-80 to improve traffic flow and safety. More than 30 bridges will have been rehabilitated or replaced.
“With demand for freight projected to double in northeastern Illinois the next 20 years, Will County’s role as a transportation hub and the country’s largest inland port is critical,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “We know I-80 drives commerce in this vitally important part of the state. At the governor’s direction, we are expediting these improvements as quickly as we can.”
Bicycle and pedestrian connections will be provided through interchanges and at overhead crossings as well as along Chicago Street between Doris and Fifth avenues.
The larger I-80 improvements will include workers from the Highway Construction Careers Training Program, an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) initiative, in partnership with South Suburban Community College, in South Holland, and Dawson Technical Institute of Kennedy King College, in Chicago, to provide minority and female students with on-the-job experience toward a career in the construction trades.
A $47 million reconstruction of the U.S. 30 interchange, which includes adding a third I-80 lane in each direction west from Interstate 355, concludes this fall. Further west, IDOT is investing $32 million to leverage a combined $200 million public-private effort for the Houbolt Road interchange and extension to the CenterPoint Properties intermodal facilities.
Through year two of Rebuild Illinois, IDOT has made approximately $5.2 billion in improvements to more than 3,000 miles of highway and nearly 300 bridges, as well as almost 450 additional safety improvements.
“Improving I-80 is a critical step in ensuring that our infrastructure is prepared to meet the growing transportation demands throughout the region,” said Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. “Will County is the largest inland port in North America, serving as a key connection between the Chicagoland region and the rest of the country. I’m grateful for the efforts of Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly in prioritizing this important project.”
Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing $33.2 billion into the state’s aging transportation system, creating jobs, and promoting economic growth. Rebuild Illinois is not only the largest capital program in state history, but also the first one that touches all modes of Illinois transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
