Joliet I-80 Houbolt Road interchange may reopen Saturday night

The reopening of the Interstate 80 interchange at Houbolt Road may be Saturday night.

The city of Joliet and the Illinois Department of Transportation have given two different timelines for the reopening of the interchange.

The interchange, which is a joint project between the city and state, was to be closed Friday night for final touches in the reconstruction project before reopening as a redesigned diverging diamond interchange.

City officials said the reopening would be at 10 a.m. Saturday. IDOT later issued a news release saying it would be 10 p.m. Saturday.

Either way, the striping that needs to be done for the diverging diamond traffic patterns could be delayed by rain.

But if dry conditions prevail, the new interchange will reopen sometime Saturday, Joliet Public Works Director Greg Ruddy said.

Houbolt Road, which also will be closed at the interchange, will reopen by 10 a.m. Saturday, Ruddy said.

But there’s a chance that the ramps to and from the interchange will remain closed until 10 p.m., he said.

If rain delays the striping, the plan is to reopen the existing interchange Saturday until the striping needed for the diverging diamond lanes can be completed.

The Friday and Saturday closure also will include the testing of traffic signals for the new interchange.