Will County News

Will County News received the following Illinois Department of Transportation Press Release on inspections of the Interstate 55 bridge over the Des Plaines River: "CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced that routine inspections of the Interstate 55 truss bridges over the Des Plaines River near Channahon will begin, weather permitting, the morning of Monday, August 10, 2015. The inspections, required to be conducted every other year, will result in weekday closures, Monday through Thursday, on I-55 during the daytime hours for approximately two to three weeks. The southbound bridge will be inspected first, with daily lane closures scheduled in the southbound lanes, weather permitting, between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. The inspections on the northbound bridge will follow, with lane closures scheduled in the northbound lanes between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., weather permitting. Dynamic Message Signs will be in place whil...

August 6, 2014 Joliet mayoral candidate and current City Councilman Bob O'Dekirk released a press release yesterday regarding a bridge over the Des Plaines River to relieve traffic on local roads such as Route 53 in Joliet.  O'Dekirk states he was contacted by union officials claiming to have a plan and private money to build a toll bridge over the Des Plaines to connect CenterPoint with I-80 at Houboult Road.  Full press release from O'Dekirk: "On the heels of yet another semitrailer rollover on I-55 Monday afternoon, Joliet District 2 Councilman, Bob O’Dekirk is calling for an expedited plan to build a proposed truck bypass bridge from CenterPoint to I-80 at Houbolt Rd. "The horrific traffic accident on I-55 last week is a call to action” O’Dekirk said, “these types of accidents and numerous rollovers on both I-55 and I-80 won’t stop until we solve the truck congestion problem plaguing Joliet and the surrounding area.”   O'Dekirk...

The Village of Elwood, Illinois held a special meeting July 23, 2014 at 7 p.m. to discuss "AN ORDINANCE REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 1027 ENTITLED “AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE MODIFICATION OF TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS UPON USAGE OF CERTAIN VILLAGE ROADS” Elwood had passed an ordinance in May restricting truck traffic on certain Village of Elwood roads in an attempt to reduce the number of trucks driving through Elwood and using U.S. Route 53.  Because trucks can currently only enter CenterPoint-Joliet from the south, trucks were getting off I80, coming south on 53, and then going through Elwood to reach the South Entrance to CenterPoint-Joliet. Elwood's May '14 ordinance restricted trucks from using CenterPoint Drive as a through street, among other restrictions . CenterPoint, Union Pacific,and APL Logistics brought a federal suit to remove the road restrictions, arguing they violated interstate commerce laws . At the July 23, '14 meeting, the Villa...

At a recent Illiana Corridor Public Meeting in Peotone, the Illiana Planning Group presented images of concepts for interchanges at Route 45/52: Concepts for Illiana Expressway Interchanges at 45/52 Map of Illiana Expressway as it crosses Route 45 and 52 outside of Wilton Center For an updated map of the Illiana Expressway and possible road closures, go HERE .

The Illiana Expressway planners met this week in Peotone, identifying two options to continue forward:  Building the expressway designed to link Interstate 55 in Illinois with Interstate 65 in Indiana along a route running roughly from Wilmington to Peotone Or, consider a no action. The final Tier 1 Corridor Planning Group/Technical Task Force meeting was held Oct. 9, 2012 at the Will County Atrium. A graphic presentation of the comparison by the Illiana Planning Team between routes is posted. Go here--- http://illianacorridor.org/get_involved/cpg_ttf.aspx  for a full report.  Interactive Map of the B3 Corridor---- HERE . According to the website, a formal announcement will be made in November or December of the preferred actions.          The presentation by the study committee calls Corridor B3 best for:        • Attracting cars and trucks to the Illiana        • Reducing E-W regional...

By Ann Baskerville Hundred of citizens attended a public hearing on the proposed Illiana Expressway tonight at Peotone High School.   The hearing was held by the Illinois and Indiana Departments of Transportation for the purpose of presenting and requesting comments on the Illiana Corridor Study Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  The EIS describes results of the study team's evaluation of the three proposed corridors (A3S2, B3, and B4) and the "no-build" alternative that have been carried forward for further study. Detailed map of the proposed corridors here . A group from Lowell, Indiana collects signatures against the building of the Illiana Expressway Several elected officials and candidates for office attended the meeting.  State Representative Larry Walsh, Jr. stated he is "not a big fan of the A3S2" corridor.  Walsh stated the purpose of the Illiana is to be an alternative to Interstate 80, and, with the A3S2 corridor connec...