The Illinois Department of Transportation is warning motorists to expect weekend delays along Interstate 80 in central Will County for the next two months.
Transportation officials hope making $1.7 million in critical repairs to the highway during off hours in late summer and early fall will avoid major headaches and unexpected lane closures this winter.
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The busy, aging interstate is in such bad shape that crews must fix the worst parts of it just top extend the life of pavement a couple more years until the entire roadway can be demolished and rebuilt as part of a $1.2 billion overhaul.
“Sections of I-80 in the Joliet area are in need of critical repairs such as pavement patching and bridge repairs to ensure it remains in good condition for the time being,” IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell told reporters during a briefing last week.
Residents of Tinley Park, Orland Park and other Southland towns who have traveled west on the interstate in recent years might know the drill. The brutal freeze/thaw cycle creates enormous potholes, especially on bridge decks.
Crews routinely closed lanes during past winters to make temporary patches. Sometimes repairs had to be made during peak travel times, creating long backups. Sometimes, the potholes get so big and deep, multiple vehicles are disabled with flat tires.
Since the stretch of I-80 through Joliet is in the early stages of a six-year rebuilding project, there are currently no shoulders for vehicles to pull over. Big potholes create big traffic problems.
Motorists might not even notice the crazy patchwork of Band-Aids at ground level, but the proof is instantly visible from the air. When TV news helicopters show the highway from above while reporting on traffic conditions, viewers can better understand why the pavement is in critical condition.
That’s why it makes sense for IDOT to try to prevent the need for emergency lane closures this winter.
“We have scheduled these repairs to take place on extended weekends starting after Labor Day,” Tridgell said. “By scheduling the work over multiple weekends this fall, the unplanned emergency closures that have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years can be minimized and significantly reduced.”
IDOT hopes getting the word out to travelers now about upcoming weekend delays can reduce congestion along the interstate.
“By planning these repairs they can be performed more safely,” Tridgell said. “You can plan ahead, use alternate routes and not get stuck in traffic unexpectedly.”
The weekend lane closures will begin Sept. 8 and typically last from 10 p.m. Thursdays until 5 a.m. Mondays for eight weeks, weather permitting. Traffic will only be reduced to one lane in either the eastbound or westbound lanes between Raynor Avenue and Gardner Street at any given time, not both at the same time.
“The work consists of patching, milling, resurfacing and pavement striping to keep the pavement in acceptable condition until the larger corridor project can begin,” IDOT said in a news release.
The larger project involves widening and rebuilding 16 miles of I-80 through Will County between New Lenox and Minooka. Work on the six-year project began in earnest this year with construction of new eastbound lanes and three bridge decks over Rowell Avenue, Richards Street and Hickory Creek.
IDOT shifted traffic onto the new eastbound lanes early Tuesday and closed the Richards Street exit, which is set to reopen in late fall.
Even with the progress made this year, there are three more sets of I-80 bridges over Gardner Street, Chicago Street and the Des Plaines River that were built in the 1960s and are not set for replacement for a couple more years. These are where the worst potholes have occurred during recent winters.
As part of the critical repair work, IDOT also will temporarily close the ramp from Chicago Street to eastbound I-80.
Transportation officials encourage drivers to seek alternate routes.
“As part of this week we are planning an awareness campaign,” said Jon Schumacher, IDOT bureau chief of construction for District 1.
During the press call, Schumacher introduced a commercial that informed people about the weekend closures and urged travelers to avoid getting stuck in delays.
“Whether you’re traveling the country or planning for rush hour, you need to know what’s up and avoid getting stuck out there,” an announcer said. “A weekend is a terrible thing to waste.”
The road is safe to travel, officials said. The critical repairs concern the condition of pavement surfaces, not structural concerns.
I-80 is one of the nation’s three coast-to-coast interstates. About 25% of the 80,000 vehicles that travel the road through Will County each day are trucks, IDOT said.
One of drawbacks of making emergency bridge deck repairs during the winter is that cold-weather patches are only temporary, said John Baczek, an IDOT engineer.
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“Winter can be really tough on pavement,” Baczek told reporters. “Using materials during warmer months is going to provide for much longer-lasting improvements.”
IDOT representatives said detours would be posted for when ramps are closed, but that there would be no designed alternate route.
The closest east-west interstate alternate to I-80 through Will County is Interstate 88, which extends from Chicago’s western suburbs to Iowa.
“There are not a lot of good alternatives to I-80,” Baczek said. “That’s what makes I-80 so important.”
Will County officials for many years pushed construction of the proposed Illiana toll road that would connect Interstate 55 near Joliet in Will County to Interstate 65 in Indiana. The road was proposed as a relief for increasing volumes of truck traffic servings warehouse, logistics and intermodal facilities in the region.
Residents in eastern Will County opposed the proposed route, which was dropped from long-range transportation plans.
Ted Slowik is a columnist at the Daily Southtown.