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Work begins to widen Interstate in Illinois

Drivers still will be able to use four lanes between the state line and Cherry Valley, Ill., this summer.

But the lanes will be narrow, and drivers will be held to 45 mph through construction zones.

Spring must be coming to the Midwest.

Work started a couple weeks ago on Interstate 90/39 from the South Beloit Toll Plaza to the Cherry Valley interchange. When finished, the highway will be three lanes in each direction.

Ramp work is under way at Cherry Valley, said Jan Kemp, deputy press secretary for the Illinois Tollway.

Here’s how the projects break down:

-- Workers will rebuild the Cherry Valley interchange for modern traffic loads, Kemp said.

“When the interchange was first constructed many years ago, it was not designed to handle the kind of traffic we see today,” Kemp said.

When the project is done at the end of 2009, drivers will not have to slow to 25 mph through a tight ramp, Kemp said. Increasing highway-to-highway speeds will reduce congestion and improve safety, Kemp said.

-- The roadway project will start later this spring and go through 2009, Kemp said.

This summer, traffic will be routed to the westbound lanes so crews can work on the eastbound lanes between South Beloit and the Newberg Bridge, Kemp said.

Exit and entrance ramps will stay open, she said.

Next summer, the lanes will flip-flop. Crews also will work on both lanes between the Rockton Road interchange and South Beloit, Kemp said.

North of the Border

Even though a study of I-90/39 north of the Badger state line is just wrapping up, some of the work already is a distant, dusty memory.

Future work is a moving target.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is putting the final touches on a study of I-90/39 between the state line and Madison. Federal highway officials now will review the documents, DOT planning manager Larry Barta said.

The intent is to expand the highway to three lanes in both directions all the way to Madison, he said.

In the summers of 2003 and 2004, bridges on I-90/39 were updated in the Janesville area, Barta said. They needed repair, and the DOT worked preemptively to fit the bridges for three lanes in anticipation of the Interstate expansion.

In 2006, The Janesville Gazette reported construction was expected to start in 2012, despite local officials’ pleas to do it sooner.

Now Barta said it could be 2015 before the DOT sees money for the project.

Barta does not expect work in Illinois to back up Interstate traffic in Wisconsin.

“Our guess is that until they’re finished and they increase their capacity to six lanes, it’s probably not (going to increase Wisconsin traffic),” Barta said. “It’s typical of construction work on bigger projects. You’ll have a little bit more of alternate-route use by people. That would mean, logically, fewer entering our system at the state line.”

On the Web

The Illinois Tollway will spend the next two summers widening Interstate 90/39 between the Wisconsin state line and Cherry Valley, Ill.

To learn more about the projects, visit www.illinoistollway.com.