BENTON, Ill. — Illinois is expanding a popular southern interstate over the next four years.
A nine-mile stretch of Interstate 57 in southern Illinois will be expanded from four lanes to six lanes. The nearly $68 million project starts next month from Whittington to West Frankfort.
It's part of a major investment from the state to rebuild I-57.
Two lanes will remain open during construction as frequently as possible, with overnight lane closures until the project wraps up in 2025.
According to a press release from Governor JB Pritzker's office, I-57 is part of the National Highway Freight Network, carrying more than 40,000 vehicles a day, 14,000 of which are trucks. The I-57 improvements are a part of Rebuild Illinois. It'll add a third lane in each direction, install a median barrier, resurface the existing lanes, update deficient guardrail and add rumble strips.
The bridges over the Big Muddy River will also be replaced.
I-DOT says I-57 will be expanded in future years all the way to Mount Vernon.
