Brace for delays on I-80 as IDOT digs into bridges, key interchanges near Joliet

The final phase of a mega rebuild and widening of I-80 starts Monday. However, drivers in the Joliet area can’t exhale yet.

Roughly 60% of the $1.3 million project between Minooka and New Lenox is complete, Illinois Department of Transportation engineers explained during a Thursday briefing.

But this year, workers will embark on the most complex part involving key bridges and ramps.

This includes building a new interchange with Chicago Street (Route 53/52), the gateway to downtown Joliet. Construction should start next week and initially involve closing one lane in each direction.

Later this spring, crews will dive into replacing I-80 bridges over the Des Plaines River, which will slim the intersection into two lanes in each direction between Richards and Center streets.

“Drivers should expect lane shifts, ramp closures, detours and periods of heavier congestion, particularly during peak travel times,” IDOT Senior Resident Engineer Phil Gibson said.

I-80 is “one of the most important east-west corridors in the country,” but it’s also over 50 years old, IDOT Region 1 Project Implementation Engineer Issam Rayyan explained.

“In Will, Kendall and Grundy counties, it carries more than 80,000 vehicles every day. One-quarter of that is freight traffic,” Rayyan said.

The construction site stretches for 16 miles from Route 30 in New Lenox to Ridge Road in Minooka.

“Twelve of those 16 miles are either substantially complete or actively under construction,” Gibson said. This includes sections to the east and west of the Des Plaines River.

One highlight of the project will be constructing a new flyover ramp from southbound I-55 to eastbound I-80 to improve merging and safety.

Work should wrap up in 2028.