Key Milestones Reached on $1.3 Billion I-80 Corridor Project
The reconstruction of I-80 is replacing more than 50-year-old infrastructure, improving safety, adding capacity, and building new connections across the interstate. The projects also create thousands of construction and permanent jobs while boosting quality of life and positioning the region for long-term economic opportunity.
Over the weekend, the Houbolt Road interchange in Joliet was converted to a diverging-diamond design, marking completion of a project in excess of $200 million with CenterPoint Properties, the city of Joliet, and Will County. The work improves access to North America’s largest inland port and opens up new economic development opportunities. The state contributed $32 million toward the project.
IDOT has awarded or is finalizing contracts that will cover nearly 12 miles of improvements to I-80, between Ridge Road and Center Street and from Rowell Avenue to U.S. 30. Once the improvements are complete, tentative for 2026, the final piece on I-80 will begin: the Center Street and Chicago Street interchanges as well as new bridges over the Des Plaines River. The entire project is anticipated to be substantially complete by the end of 2028, with landscaping, bridge demolition, and miscellaneous work extending into 2029.
The overall I-80 project will redesign and rebuild 16 miles from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. 30 in Joliet and New Lenox, improving travel times and reducing congestion. Interchanges will be 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 eastbound I-80 to improve traffic flow and safety. More than 30 bridges will be rehabilitated or replaced.
