These are the southwestern Illinois road construction projects planned near you
More than 200 miles of roadway and nearly a million square feet of bridges in southwestern Illinois are slated for improvements within the next six years under a statewide infrastructure program.
The projects will cost roughly $1.91 billion from 2022 to 2027 in 11 counties including St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, Clinton, Bond, Jersey, Greene, Calhoun and Marion. The Illinois Department of Transportation has not set definite dates for when the projects will start.
Here are some of the major projects:
Interstate 55/64/US 40/Illinois 3 and Illinois 3 ramps at the Poplar Street Complex and from Mississippi River to Interstate 64 (Tri-Level) interchange in St. Clair County: Reconstruction of 2.7 miles, bridge replacement and replacement, and planning at a cost of $188.5 million
Interstate 64/US 50 from west of Greenmount Road to 1.1 miles west of Illinois 158 in St. Clair County: Additional lanes and resurfacing on 3.9 miles (including ramp repair) and bridge repair at a cost of $35.6 million
Interstate 64 from half a mile west of Beaver Pond Creek to roughly a mile west of County Highway 11 in Washington County: Resurfacing on 11 miles and bridge repair at a cost of $46.5 million
Interstate 255/US 50 from Illinois 3 at Columbia to Illinois 15 in St. Clair and Monroe Counties, including the Jefferson Barracks Bridges: Resurfacing on 22.3 miles and ramp and bridge repair at a cost of $148.8
Interstate 270 at Mississippi River and to the Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge in Madison County: Additional lanes on 1.4 miles, a bridge replacement, land acquisition and planning at a cost of $257.6 million.
Interstate 270 from Mississippi River Bridge to Illinois 3 in Madison County: Interchange reconstruction, bridge work, planning and land acquisition at a cost of $42.7 million
Illinois 158 Relocated from Illinois 177 to Illinois 161: New construction on 1.2 miles, a new bridge, a new culvert and land acquisition at a cost of $17.7 million
Illinois 162/157 at Judy’s Branch Creek and intersection relocation from the north junction of Illinois 157 to the south junction of Illinois 157 in Madison County: A bridge replacement, intersection reconstruction, a new bridge, pedestrian overpass, land acquisition and at a cost of $22 million
Construction is already underway this year on the Poplar Street Bridge. The three right lanes of eastbound Interstate 55/64 are closed, as is the ramp to southbound Illinois 3 and the ramp to southbound Tudor Avenue in East St. Louis. Bridge, road and ramp repair will continue through early October.
The projects are part of the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan lawmakers approved in 2019. Statewide, the next phase of the highway improvement program will result in the reconstruction nearly 2,779 miles more miles of roads and 7.9 million square feet of bridge decks in the five-year time frame.
Local lawmakers praised the planned improvements.
“I’m pleased to see funds spent on the roads we travel on every day, including some that are in desperate need of repair,” said state Sen. Chris Belt, D-Cahokia Heights. “This plan will provide hundreds of jobs for those who were left unemployed from the pandemic, helping us put it behind us and get our state back on track.”
A full list of projects is available on IDOT’s website.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 12:15 PM.
