More traffic snarls ahead at downtown Joliet bridges

The Cass Street bridge in downtown Joliet was reduced to one lane this week, a traffic restriction that will have impact in the months ahead as the Illinois Department of Transportation plans to close other bridges for repairs.

The unplanned lane restrictions on the Cass Street bridge amounted to one more wrench in the works in IDOT’s schedule of maintenance and upgrades for the downtown drawbridges.

IDOT is in the midst of a prolonged modernization project for the bridges while dealing with mechanical problems and other issues that arise with the drawbridges built in the 1930s.

It was concerns about corroded steel on the Cass Street bridge that led to this week’s lane restrictions.

“We’ve been in conversations with them (IDOT),” Joliet City Manager Beth Beatty said Friday, acknowledging the impact that lane restrictions on the Cass Street bridge had just a few months ago.

“We made it clear we can’t have two bridges shut down at once,” Beatty said. “They need to stay in communication with us to avoid that situation from happening again.”

The three-lane Cass Street bridge, which is also U.S. Route 30 at that point, is the biggest outlet for westward traffic moving through downtown and over the Des Plaines River.

IDOT plans to keep it down to one lane into at least mid-2025 when the bridge will undergo repairs.

Lane restrictions leading up to the bridge contributed to major downtown traffic back-ups in May when the Ruby Street bridge was closed for more than a week for repairs.

Those lane restrictions were due to city of Joliet roadwork. But the impact on traffic is likely to be the same with the Cass Street bridge down to one lane when IDOT closes two other downtown bridges in the coming months.

The Ruby Street and Jackson Street bridges are scheduled for repairs and upgrades.

More planned closures

IDOT this week said the following closures are planned:

• Closing the Jackson Street bridge for three weeks starting in early September for electrical work and repairs.

• Closing the Ruby Street bridge later this fall for maintenance and upgrades that could continue until summer 2025.

• Closure of the Cass Street bridge for repairs once the Ruby Street bridge project is completed.

• Continued closure of the Brandon Road bridge, which is located in Joliet Township and outside of downtown but provides an alternative route for crossing the Des Plaines River, until summer 2025 as IDOT completes repairs.

IDOT tries to avoid having two downtown bridges shut down at the same time, and the scheduled closure of the Ruby Street bridge is timed accordingly.

“The work is highly weather dependent and contingent upon completion of the Jackson Street bridge project,” IDOT spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said in an email.

The Ruby Street bridge is scheduled for upgrades needed for a conversion of the Joliet drawbridges to a centralized bridge tender system. Bridge tenders would operate the Joliet bridges from an office at the Jackson Street bridge instead of being stationed at the individual bridges as they are now.

The Ruby Street bridge upgrades at one time were to take place in April, but the work has been pushed back several times.

IDOT has been planning the centralized bridge office since at least 2010 and made the plan public in 2013. At one time, IDOT said it would begin operating Joliet bridges from the centralized office by 2023.