I-80 work heads east this weekend in Joliet

Interstate 80 work in Joliet moves back to eastbound lanes this weekend.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is in the fifth weekend of an eight-weekend project that has reduced I-80 to one lane in one direction from 10 p.m. on Thursdays to 5 a.m. on Mondays.

The project creates significant delays in the direction where the work is done, particularly on Fridays when traffic is heaviest, and IDOT advises motorists and truckers to seek alternate routes during the weekends. Westbound lanes this weekend will be open as usual.

Construction alternates between eastbound and westbound lanes each weekend.

IDOT is repairing road surfaces and bridge decks between Raynor Avenue and Gardner Street.

Also, the eastbound I-80 ramp to Richards Street remains closed for reconstruction. The anticipated reopening is late fall.

I-80 traffic typically consists of 80,000 vehicles a day, and 25% of that is trucks.

The work underway now precedes a larger I-80 project that will stretch 16 miles between Ridge Road in Minooka and Route 30 in New Lenox. The project include new bridges over the Des Plaines River, rebuilt interchanges in Joliet, and auxiliary lanes added at interchanges to open traffic flow through the area.