Cass St. bridge in Joliet could be shut down for 2026

The state plans to shut down the Cass Street bridge in downtown Joliet for 16 months starting in late summer.

The drawbridge would be closed for all of 2026, the year the city wants to showcase downtown and welcome tourists during the 100th anniversary year for historic Route 66.

The bridge has been reduced to one lane since August, when the Illinois Department of Transportation said corroded steel made it necessary to reduce traffic on the structure.

IDOT maintains the downtown drawbridges over the Des Plaines River.

At the time the three-lanes on the Cass Street bridge were reduced to one, IDOT said it would remain that way until a bridge rehabilitation project started sometime in 2025 but did not set a timetable.

“The plan at this time is likely looking at a full closure of the Cass Street bridge starting in late August/early September and lasting through 2026 to make repairs that were identified during a routine inspection last summer,” IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said Friday.

Tridgell added that “one caveat is there is another scheduled inspection of the bridge in early summer to reevaluate conditions. At that point we’ll determine if we need to revisit the timetable for the project, which consists of repairing and replacing structural steel that had deteriorated and corroded over time.”

The one-way bridge over the Des Plaines River also is the route for westbound U.S. 30 traffic through downtown.

The reduction to one lane on the bridge already leads to downtown traffic backups on Cass Street.

Cass Street is the local designation for U.S. 30, also known as the Lincoln Highway and an historic highway itself, as it moves through the East Side and downtown.

The intersection of Cass and Chicago streets downtown is a landmark spot where the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 cross.

Joliet is building a city square a block south of the intersection and rebuilding a section of Chicago Street south of Cass Street. City officials want both projects done by the end of this year and ready for the 2026 anniversary for Route 66.