ESSEX – State Senator Joyce (D-Essex) announced that the Illinois Department of Transportation’s five-year Highway Improvement Program will include much needed-updates to roads and bridges, including major improvements on I-55 and I-57.

To protect public safety, IDOT is making major road and bridge repairs on I-55, worth $22 million.  The construction area will stretch roughly from Gardner to Braidwood.

“Illinois is the crossroads of the nation, and it’s absolutely vital to our safety and economy that we maintain our network of highways,” Joyce said. “These repairs will also create good-paying construction jobs for people throughout the region.”

The Highway Improvement Program to repair and replace Illinois’ roads and bridges includes over 90 projects and nearly half a billion dollars of investment between now and 2025 across the south suburbs, Kankakee, and surrounding communities.

Other notable projects include replacing the Larry Power Road Bridge over I-57 in Bourbonnais, with an estimated price tag of $3.7 million.

“We must repair our bridges before they become safety hazards,” Joyce said. “Preventive work reduces the likelihood of deadly accidents and, in the long run, saves taxpayer dollars.”

Overall, IDOT’s statewide program will invest around $23.5 billion for road and bridge expansion and improvements. The statewide program will take place between 2020 and 2025.