The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced the next phase of construction on the new Houbolt Road bridge and interchange in Joliet.
The project is considered a critical piece of the state’s $1.2 billion commitment to improve and modernize I-80 through the Rebuild Illinois capital program. The goal of the project—which is funded by an estimated $200 million in public and private funding—is to create hundreds of construction and permanent jobs while improving safety and intermodal activity throughout the region, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“The next phase of I-80’s modernization begins today at Houbolt Road, giving new life to one the interstate’s most critical interchanges and a key access point for Joliet,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “Our state investment of $32 million right here in Joliet will help widen Houbolt Road and reconfigure its interchange into a high-capacity, diverging-diamond design.”
Under a unique public-private partnership between IDOT, the City of Joliet and CenterPoint Properties, the city is overseeing the $33.5 million project to widen Houbolt Road and reconfigure its interchange with I-80 to a high-capacity, diverging-diamond design. The state is providing $32 million in capital funding for the project.
The state and city investments have also leveraged a CenterPoint investment of up to $170 million to build a new tolled bridge on Houbolt Road over the Des Plaines River. Already under construction, the new bridge will connect I-80 and CenterPoint’s intermodal facilities.
The Houbolt Road improvements are key elements of Gov. Pritzker’s vision to restore 16 miles of I-80 from Ridge Road to U.S. 30 and replace the Des Plaines River bridges. Construction is already underway on the overhaul of I-80, replacing more than 50-year-old infrastructure on a corridor that carries 80,000 vehicles a day, about 25% of which are trucks.
The project is estimated to reach completion by 2023.
