Rebuild Illinois

New Interstate 80 bridges over the Des Plaines River will come with $3.5 million in state money for improvements to neighborhoods below.

Work will begin Monday on Richards Street, between Colburn and Fifth avenues, in Joliet, according to an announcement by the Illinois Department of Transportation.The $20 million project will rebuild the road and rehabilitate the bridge over Hickory Creek.

State officials say bridges carrying both directions of Interstate 80 over Hickory Creek, Richards Street and Rowell Avenue/Canadian National Railroad are now substantially complete.

The Interstate 55 interchange at the border of Joliet and Shorewood will open on Monday. Some lanes will remain closed, but Gov. Pritzker and others will be there for a ribbon-cutting.

Three-week closure for repairs starts Sept. 16.

Illinois Route 7 (9th Street) bridge in Lockport among 10 Illinois infrastructure projects in Will County that are mapped out over next 6 years

The new bridge on Sugar Creek Road in Joliet provides a smoother pathway for both motorists and walkers, officials and residents said. The bridge replaces a structure built in 1980.

Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, westbound I-80 will be reduced from two lanes to one between Briggs and Richards streets.

Avenue A is being rebuilt from East Third Street to East 10th Street, with the exception of where it crosses Dixon Avenue, Rock Falls City Administrator Robbin Blackert said.

The $1.3 billion Interstate 80 reconstruction project when completed will redesign and rebuild 16 miles from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. 30 in Joliet and New Lenox.

The Wheeler Avenue bridge over Interstate 80 in Joliet is scheduled to reopen, weather permitting, by noon Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

City Council members unanimously voted to purchase a 0.23-acre vacant lot along West First Street, between Second and Fourth avenues, for $30,000. There are plans to redevelop the property.

Mt. Morris is seeking a $1.8 million state grant to revitalize the business side of downtown. “This would be our commitment as a village to the downtown business district saying, ‘We’re there. We get it and we support the work that you’re doing,’” Village President Phil Labash said.