Houbolt Road Is Closing Later This Week, Here's Why

JOLIET, IL — At 9 p.m. this Friday, the interchange of I-80 and Houbolt Road will be closed to all traffic. There will be no traffic entering or exiting I-80 at Houbolt Road, and Houbolt Road through traffic will be closed between Rock Creek Blvd and Mound Road, city of Joliet officials announced on Monday.

A detour will be posted for the interchange closure that will utilize Route 6 and Route 7. This closure is needed to test the new traffic signal equipment and complete any remaining pavement markings that are required for the new lane configurations at the interchange.

It is expected that the ramps and through traffic will reopen to vehicular traffic by 10 p.m. on Saturday. At this time, new traffic patterns will be in place that follow the new lane configurations. The new permanent traffic signals at the ramps will also be operational at this time. If rain prohibits the completion of the pavement markings, the opening of the new lane configurations will be delayed until the markings have been completed.

The Houbolt Road Reconstruction Project between I-80 and US Route 6 includes the modification of the interchange at I-80 to become a Diverging Diamond Interchange.

The installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Houbolt Road and Mound Road is also included in this project. It is expected that this new traffic signal will be activated within the next few weeks. Other remaining improvements including a new multi-use path along Houbolt Road and roadway lighting installations will be completed in the next few weeks.

Daily lane closures along Houbolt Road should be expected as work continues to complete these improvements, Joliet noted.