I-55 Lanes, Some Closed Since July, Reopen In Plainfield, Joliet

PLAINFIELD, IL — All I-55 lanes, some of which have been closed for construction since July, are scheduled to reopen Friday morning if weather permits, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced.

All I-55 lanes between U.S. 30 and Illinois 126, running through Plainfield and Joliet, will be open again, but that doesn't mean work will come to a complete halt. Officials said Wednesday that as the project nears completion, some additional work remains, including replacing guardrails. To complete this, some lanes will close overnight intermittently through late November.

The northbound left lane was closed for pavement patching and bridge repairs as part of a two-year project to rehabilitate a highly used travel and freight corridor through Will County, IDOT officials said.

A northbound lane, running about 4.5 miles, on I-55 between Weber Road and I-80 also closed July 11 for pavement patching, bridge deck overlays and shoulder reconstruction. Similar work was completed on southbound I-55, resulting in the highway being reduced to two lanes in each direction while construction was ongoing.

RELATED: I-55 Lane Closures Make Way For Travel, Freight Improvements

"This project will not only improve transportation for the Will County area, but it will make a vital corridor for the state’s economy easier to travel and safer for freight activity and tourism," Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in a statement in July.

The work is part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's six-year Rebuild Illinois capital program, which invested $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation, according to IDOT.

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