Interstate 255 in southwestern Illinois to reopen next week after months-long closure
The long-awaited reopening of Interstate 255 is scheduled for “sometime” late next week, a month ahead of schedule, said Gov J.B. Pritzker, who visited the metro-east Thursday.
The 10-month rehabilitation project to rebuild “one of Illinois’ worst roads” began with a five-month closure of the northern side of Interstate 255 in February. The final stretch of the rehabilitation project, which stretches from Interstate 64 to Illinois 15, will be finished before the end of the month, Pritzker said. However, no specific day for a reopening has been announced.
“It’s investments like the rehabilitation of I-255, which sees about 55,000 vehicles a day, that will extend our state’s leadership as a multi-modal transportation hub, improving local bridges and keeping our roadways safe and smooth,” Pritzker said. “This highway saw $67 million worth of drainage upgrades, bridge repairs, and resurfacing. Best of all, we got this project done in record time – months instead of years – saving money and protecting drivers and workers alike by strategically closing the road for work.”
The project included resurfacing of about 7 miles of I-255 and was expected to cost $67 million from the Rebuild Illinois capital program, a $45 billion project to restore the state’s aging transportation system.
Asphalt resurfacing was done in two stages betwen Collinsville Road to Illinois 15, separated by Interstate 64. Work also included “significant bridge repairs,” safety improvements and draining upgrades.
At the time of the interstate’s closure, the Illinois Department of Transportation estimated the project would take 10 months to complete. Transportation officials said a full closure would allow construction crews to work more quickly and save the state millions.
It’s estimated that the full closure of the road saved the state about $14 million, which Pritzker and acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said can be reinvested into other projects in the metro-east. Osman added that that the closure ensured road worker and commuter safety as the project was completed.
Osman said I-255 was the most complained-about road in the state of Illinois before the rehabilitation project began. Most of the interstate’s pavement dated back to the construction of the highway in the 1980s. IDOT said emergency repairs were frequent because of aging pavement failures and large potholes.
Pritzker mentioned several other projects that are underway or beginning in the metro-east, including expanding U.S. 67 from two lanes to four lanes and work on the Dehli Bypass in Jersey County. He said the investments into I-255 and other projects in the metro-east will also be a job producer.
“Rebuild Illinois is bigger than one project,” he said. “We’re not resting on our laurels. Many other major projects are on deck for 2021 for the metro-east.”
State Senator Chris Belt, D-Centreville, said significant rehabilitation into the southern stretch of I-255 was needed due to a “lack on investment” that had made the road notoriously hard to drive on.
“This I-255 project is just one example of the tremendous infrastructure work that will be completed in the coming years,” he said.
St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern said the investment into I-255 by the state has turned a decaying road into a piece of infrastructure the county can be proud of.
“A stretch of highway that had more craters than the moon a short six months ago today is a beautiful stretch of infrastructure,” Kern said. “An area that has seen significant disinvestment now finally has infrastructure that we can look at, that we can be proud of and that we can drive over without having our teeth rattling out of our mouth.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 11:52 AM.