Illinois DOT launches website on Interstate 80 reconstruction

The Illinois Department of Transportation launched a new website, I80will.org, to provide the public with the latest information on the $1.2 billion reconstruction of Interstate 80 through Will County.

The website includes these features:

• Updates on ongoing coordination with communities to minimize construction effects on the public.
• A project information center, featuring reports, newsletters and answers to frequently asked questions.
• Project news, maps and other information detailing the latest developments.
• Previous planning and stakeholder outreach information as well as project reports.
• Construction schedule information and timeline for each portion of the project.
• Meeting announcements and the opportunity to sign up for project news, traffic and detour alerts, and submit questions and comments.
• Photo and video galleries to view construction progress.

As one of the country’s three coast-to-coast interstates, Interstate 80 through Joliet and Will County carries approximately 80,000 vehicles a day, about 25% of which are trucks.

“Our commitment to fixing the Interstate 80 corridor involves one of the most complex stretches of interstate in the entire country,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in a statement. “The new website, I80will.org, will provide the public with a one-stop shop to find the latest information on how the project is progressing and what they can do to successfully navigate the next several years of construction.”

Advance work on Interstate 80 started last year with a $41.7 million project to replace the eastbound bridges over Hickory Creek, Richards Street and Rowell Avenue/Canadian National Railroad, and westbound over Richards Street, in Joliet, Rockdale and New Lenox, while widening eastbound Interstate 80 from Gardner Street to Rowell Avenue. Once the eastbound improvements are completed later this year, similar improvements will begin in the westbound direction.

Once all work is complete in 2027, the overall Interstate 80 project will have redesigned and rebuilt 16 miles from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. 30 in New Lenox, while adding or extending auxiliary lanes to improve safety and reduce congestion. Interchanges will have been rebuilt or improved at Interstate 55, Larkin Avenue (Illinois 7), Center Street, Chicago Street (U.S. 52/Illinois 53), Richards Street and Briggs Street, with a new flyover ramp linking southbound Interstate 55 to westbound Interstate 80 to improve traffic flow and safety. More than 30 bridges will have been rehabilitated or replaced.

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. LL