Illinois notes

[ET21]

I-55 is closed from US 6 (Exit 248) to River Road (Exit 241) (which includes the Des Plaines River Bridge) due to downed power lines.  Some news stories indicated it may be closed for at least another day.

ComEd apparently needs to bring a lot of equipment back there to fix the high voltage lines.  At least one tower structure is down, possibly more, and the area is swampy and thus require matting before any heavy equipment can be brought back to these tower areas.  ComEd said that they will probably have the equipment on-site on Wednesday so this is a longer term closure than just a day or two.

They reopened I-55 this morning, but it's gonna be awhile before the towers are rebuilt. NWS rated it as an EF-2 tornado in that stretch

[Brandon]

I-55 is closed from US 6 (Exit 248) to River Road (Exit 241) (which includes the Des Plaines River Bridge) due to downed power lines.  Some news stories indicated it may be closed for at least another day.

ComEd apparently needs to bring a lot of equipment back there to fix the high voltage lines.  At least one tower structure is down, possibly more, and the area is swampy and thus require matting before any heavy equipment can be brought back to these tower areas.  ComEd said that they will probably have the equipment on-site on Wednesday so this is a longer term closure than just a day or two.

They reopened I-55 this morning, but it's gonna be awhile before the towers are rebuilt. NWS rated it as an EF-2 tornado in that stretch

Yeah, ComEd moved pretty fast on this.  Driving by this morning, one can see the two towers crumpled on each side of I-55.

[Revive 755]

The new ramp for the SB I-39 mainline at the western US 20 interchange is partially open - only the right lane on the ramp is currently usable.

[cwm1276]

The new ramp for the SB I-39 mainline at the western US 20 interchange is partially open - only the right lane on the ramp is currently usable.

Seeming to help traffic already as the incline is less on the new ramp.  Trucks seemed to take it faster.  I keep left and stay on 20.

[SSOWorld]

Now it they could get that road straightened out at Perryville road (they put the bridge pillar in the middle of the road (sort of)

[cwm1276]

Now it they could get that road straightened out at Perryville road (they put the bridge pillar in the middle of the road (sort of)

They are supposed to start next year rebuilding 20/39.  3 lanes + auxiliary lane between Harrison and 39.  The column of Perryville is the centerline of the new road.  People will still think they need to be in the left lane to continue south on 39.

[edwaleni]

Does anyone know the details on why IDOT closed the eastbound side of the Stan Musial?

They said something about a catastrophic failure of a bridge joint between the Musial and the ramp.

Just how bad is it?

[hobsini2]

Does anyone know the details on why IDOT closed the eastbound side of the Stan Musial?

They said something about a catastrophic failure of a bridge joint between the Musial and the ramp.

Just how bad is it?

Apparently, a failed bridge joint. They are replacing it.

[edwaleni]

Thanks, looks like the answers came out over in the bid area.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9615.545

[paulthemapguy]

New sign gantries and signal masts are going up at the I-55 interchange with Illinois 59 (exit 251). I saw this sitting on the NB offramp today, waiting to be hoisted.


2024-09-13_04-31-11 by Paul Across America, on Flickr

[Brandon]

New sign gantries and signal masts are going up at the I-55 interchange with Illinois 59 (exit 251). I saw this sitting on the NB offramp today, waiting to be hoisted.

When complete, that's going to be a very oblique diverging diamond.  It'll be almost a U-turn to go from Sbd I-55 to Nbd IL-59.

[Lyon Wonder]

News on the replacement for the IL-16/IL-100 Joe Page Illinois River Bridge at Hardin. There are 4 possible locations for the new bridge being studied.

I wouldn't be surprised the new bridge will be located several miles north or south away from Hardin and nowhere near the old bridge.

https://wlds.com/idot-narrows-new-joe-page-bridge-design-down-to-4-corridors/

[Rick Powell]

News on the replacement for the IL-16/IL-100 Joe Page Illinois River Bridge at Hardin. There are 4 possible locations for the new bridge being studied.

I wouldn't be surprised the new bridge will be located several miles north or south away from Hardin and nowhere near the old bridge.

https://wlds.com/idot-narrows-new-joe-page-bridge-design-down-to-4-corridors/

When the Florence bridge is replaced soon in Scott/Pike counties, the Joe Page bridge will be the last remaining vertical lift bridge on the state highway system (there are a few bascule bridges in Joliet). When I was at IDOT, there was a lot of joking among Districts about not wanting to have the last remaining vertical lift because it would be deemed "historic" and unable to be replaced with a non-lift. Sounds like the removal of Joe Page won't trigger anything of the sort, just a bunch of photos and a report for the Historic American Engineering Record documentation.

[edwaleni]

Probably the ferry at Kampsville will be the last "historic" thing to be saved.

Oh by the way, there is still the Torrence Ave. lift bridge over the Calumet River. But that is a CDOT, not IDOT deal.

[SEWIGuy]

I was on a roadtrip today, and I drove the entire length of I-180 for the first time in about 15 years, and didn't realize that the former site of the steel mill is now an ethanol plant. Since it's harvest time, the amount of trucks on the highway was pretty impressive for a highway that supposedly doesn't get a lot of traffic.

[The Ghostbuster]

Interstate 180 is one of those roadways that was overbuilt from the start. The fact that it served a new steel plant was not a good enough reason to construct the roadway as an Interstate. With how little traffic Interstate 180 has carried since it first opened in 1969, it probably would have sufficed if it were constructed as a two-lane roadway with at-grade intersections. The whole route could have been signposted as a relocation of IL 26.

[Rick Powell]

I was on a roadtrip today, and I drove the entire length of I-180 for the first time in about 15 years, and didn't realize that the former site of the steel mill is now an ethanol plant. Since it's harvest time, the amount of trucks on the highway was pretty impressive for a highway that supposedly doesn't get a lot of traffic.

Marquis Energy is actually north of the old J&L steel plant, which was torn down in its entirety a few years ago after a futile effort to find a new tenant. However, new tracks were added to the existing Norfolk Southern rail line that formerly served J&L to haul feedstock in and product out of Marquis. Marquis gives NS quite a bit of business, and the rail line might otherwise be a candidate for abandonment west of Streator, since Marquis is practically the only remaining customer on the line.

[Rick Powell]

Interstate 180 is one of those roadways that was overbuilt from the start. The fact that it served a new steel plant was not a good enough reason to construct the roadway as an Interstate. With how little traffic Interstate 180 has carried since it first opened in 1969, it probably would have sufficed if it were constructed as a two-lane roadway with at-grade intersections. The whole route could have been signposted as a relocation of IL 26.

IDOT has a $1.5 million planning study in its FY 2025-2030 multi-year program as well as $2.5 million for design of I-180 and IL 26, from I-80 TO 0.6 MI E OF ILL 26 in Hennepin. Not sure if they will look at a lane removal option.

[SEWIGuy]

I was on a roadtrip today, and I drove the entire length of I-180 for the first time in about 15 years, and didn't realize that the former site of the steel mill is now an ethanol plant. Since it's harvest time, the amount of trucks on the highway was pretty impressive for a highway that supposedly doesn't get a lot of traffic.

Marquis Energy is actually north of the old J&L steel plant, which was torn down in its entirety a few years ago after a futile effort to find a new tenant. However, new tracks were added to the existing Norfolk Southern rail line that formerly served J&L to haul feedstock in and product out of Marquis. Marquis gives NS quite a bit of business, and the rail line might otherwise be a candidate for abandonment west of Streator, since Marquis is practically the only remaining customer on the line.

Thank you.

[edwaleni]

I was on a roadtrip today, and I drove the entire length of I-180 for the first time in about 15 years, and didn't realize that the former site of the steel mill is now an ethanol plant. Since it's harvest time, the amount of trucks on the highway was pretty impressive for a highway that supposedly doesn't get a lot of traffic.

Marquis Energy is actually north of the old J&L steel plant, which was torn down in its entirety a few years ago after a futile effort to find a new tenant. However, new tracks were added to the existing Norfolk Southern rail line that formerly served J&L to haul feedstock in and product out of Marquis. Marquis gives NS quite a bit of business, and the rail line might otherwise be a candidate for abandonment west of Streator, since Marquis is practically the only remaining customer on the line.

Yes, the ArcelorMittal plant closed in 2017. Demolition started for a brief time after but stopped. IPS Steel of Michigan took over (bought the plant) and was recycling all of the structural steel in the building. Last I heard they were still pulling down the building as late as 5 years ago. Seems they finally got it all.

As for the rail line, the NS route, a former extension of the New York Central Kankakee Belt, used to run all the way to Ladd & Churchill, IL with a bridge over the Illinois River where it exchanged with CNW, CBQ, RI. The MILW later got trackage rights on it to reach their former CMG ROW in Kankakee. After the NYC merger with the Penn in 1968, it fell to Penn Central. Then went to Conrail in 1976. When the MILW went bankrupt the traffic over the bridge stopped, In 1984, Conrail removed the bridge.

After the bridge came down the line was mostly used to bring in coal to the Hennepin Power plant, until they switched to barged coal brought up from Beardstown. Washington Mills is still a customer, they make hardened silica and specialty carbides. The tracks to the power plant end in the weeds just west of the carbide mill. It fell to NS in the Conrail breakup and the service was called the "Lostant-Hennepin Local" until the grain elevator in Lostant dropped rail service. It served the steel plant bringing in metallurgical coal from 1968 until 2017.

So today, 2 customers, Marquis Energy and Washington Mills.