I-80 Joliet Interchanges Are Going Away For Next 3 Years, It's Finally Happening: IDOT Reveals

JOLIET, IL — People have heard about plans to build a new Interstate 80 bridge and widen the lanes of traffic along the Joliet corridor of I-80 for many years and now the construction work is really happening. And that means that the Center Street/Meadow Avenue exits for Joliet and Rockdale are being taken away for the next three years.

IDOT issued a follow-up press release on the topic Thursday because the closures will be put into place come next week as IDOT's Christmas present to Joliet area motorists.

The Illinois Department of Transportation press release reminds people that the Interstate 80 interchange ramps at Center Street/Meadow Avenue in Joliet are scheduled to close, weather permitting, after the evening rush Monday, Dec. 22.

Center Street/Meadow Avenue over I-80 between Wheeler Avenue and Morgan Street will be closing as well.

The closures are necessary to reconstruct and reconfigure the interchange at I-80 and Center Street. Detours will direct traffic to U.S. 6, Larkin Avenue and Jefferson Street.

The interchange ramp from eastbound Meadow Avenue to eastbound I-80 will remain open. It is anticipated to close for repairs in fall 2027.

The interchange is one of six that are being rebuilt as part of the ongoing efforts to rebuild and modernize I-80 from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. 30 in Joliet and New Lenox.

The ramps to and from the interstate and Center Street/Meadow Avenue over the interstate are anticipated to reopen in late 2028.

The projected $1.3 billion project is anticipated to be substantially complete by the end of 2028, with landscaping, bridge demolition and miscellaneous work extending into 2029.