5-month paving project to begin on I-55 in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Getting in and out of Springfield from the east may take a little longer for a while.

The Illinois Department of Transportation says it will embark on a $10 million project on Interstate 55 on Monday. Crews will repair and replace pavement and make culvert upgrades on I-55 from just north of Stevenson Drive to north of Clear Lake Avenue and Interstate 72.

To ease congestion, the bulk of the work will be done at night, Monday through Thursday.

IDOT spokeswoman Kelsea Gurski tells The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/2ppWNPx ) that first part of the project will be on the southbound lanes and when that is done the crews will move to the northbound lanes. Gurski says the work on the lanes will take about 2 ˆ½ months for each direction.