I-80 Work in Joliet Begins April 5th

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that bridge deck patching and repairs to Interstate 80 between Chicago Street and Briggs Street, in Joliet, will require overnight lane closures, followed by multiple weekend lane and ramp closures, beginning, weather permitting, Monday, April 5. To minimize the impact to traffic, construction will be carried out in several stages. The work will initially take place over three consecutive nights, weather permitting, starting at 10 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Thursday, April 8. The first stage of the project, installing a temporary concrete barrier wall and rumble strips, will require lane and shoulder closures on both sides of I-80, from Chicago Street to Briggs Street. At least one lane in both directions will remain open at all times. Daytime traffic will not be impacted.

Shoulder closures will continue for approximately four to six weeks to accommodate temporary pavement construction as part of advance work to replace the eastbound I-80 bridges over Hickory Creek, Richards Street, Rowell Avenue/Canadian National Railroad, and westbound over Richards Street. Starting at 10 p.m. Friday, April 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 12, eastbound I-80, from east of Larkin Avenue (Illinois 7) to Briggs Street will be reduced to one lane. In addition, the entrance ramp from Chicago Street to eastbound I-80 will be closed. During that time, a detour will direct traffic to Richards Street to access eastbound I-80. The same closures and hours will be in effect, weather permitting, the weekend of Friday, April 16 and, if needed, the weekend of Friday, April 23.

The weekend closures are necessary to make pavement repairs so the interstate can accommodate both directions of traffic when work on replacing the eastbound I-80 bridges begin later this spring. The eventual replacement of the Des Plaines River bridges and larger improvements to I-80 in Will County are a cornerstone project in Gov. JB Pritzker�s Rebuild Illinois capital program, which will invest $33.2 billion in transportation infrastructure across all modes throughout the state. The estimated $1.2 billion project is included in IDOT�s current multi-year plan. The project will reconstruct 16 miles of I-80, 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, as well as improving interchanges at I-55, Illinois 7, Center Street, U.S. 52/Illinois 53, Richards Street and Briggs Street.