I-80 ramps at Chicago Street in Joliet close for several years of construction, detours in place

The Illinois Department of Transportation is closing nearly all ramps at the I-80-Chicago Street interchange in Joliet as part of their long-term renovation project along that highway.

The following ramps close at 7 p.m. Friday and will remain closed until 2028, IDOT said, with the following reroutes:

Westbound I-80 to northbound and southbound Chicago Street

Traffic westbound on I-80 will be rerouted to the Larkin Avenue (Illinois 7) exit and entrance ramps to access Chicago Street from eastbound I-80.

Eastbound I-80 to northbound Chicago Street

Traffic will be detoured off the eastbound I-80 ramp to southbound Chicago Street, then turn left at a new temporary traffic signal onto northbound Chicago Street.

Northbound Chicago Street to westbound I-80

Traffic will be detoured to turn left onto a temporary ramp connecting southbound Chicago Street to westbound I-80.

IDOT said there will be additional ramp and lane closures throughout the multi-year duration of the construction, which will be marked and shared closer to those closures.

The construction is all part of a IDOT project to repair more than 30 bridges and improve a 16-mile stretch of I-80 from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. Route 30 in Joliet and New Lenox. It is expected to be finished in 2028 with additional landscaping, bridge demolition and final work extending into 2029.