Construction will be starting to replace the Perryville Road bridge in the Rockford area. The replacement will cost $8 million and will be the start of a $300 million plan to widen and rebuild I-39. The new bridge will be longer and wider to accommodate additional lanes of traffic that will be added to the interstate.
I-39 will be widened to include a third lane and an auxiliary lane in both directions. The interchange at U.S. 20 and Harrison Avenue will also be converted to a diverging diamond design.
The Perryville bridge carries about 8,000 vehicles each day and the interstate below sees more than 52,000 vehicles a day according to IDOT. The roughly 60 year old bridge has a low clearance height that makes it susceptible to hits from large trucks. One such collision occurred in June of 2021.
"Illinois travelers have been forced to endure congestion from below on I-39 and street closures from above due to the bridge's low clearance and susceptibility to bridge strikes. To say the least, the Perryville Road bridge is long overdue for a makeover."
Governor of Illinois | JB Pritzker
The Rock River Current states that Pritzker said the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan has delivered $150 million for transportation in the greater Rockford area so far with an additional $525 million coming over the next few years.
Some of the other area capital projects funded by the infrastructure plan include:
- $6.6 million expansion of East State Street from Mid American Drive to Buckley Drive
- The $1.5 million resurfacing of Alpine Road
- The $12.4 million resurfacing of U.S. 20 from Winnebago to South Main Street
Last fall, IDOT finished the third phase of West State Street, a $6.5 million project that included new lanes of traffic and a recreation path.
Additionally, Rebuild Illinois invests $275 million to re-establish passenger rail service between Chicago and Rockford. The capital program has also invested close to $40 million in the Rockford Mass Transit District - $32.7 million to expand and improve the 520 Mulberry Street transit facility and $6.9 million to buy alternative fuel buses and paratransit vehicles.
Illinois.gov reports that when the entire project is complete in 2027, a total of 15 bridges will have been reconstructed, including the Kishwaukee River bridges on U.S. 20. A third lane in each direction also will have been added to Harrison Avenue/U.S. 20 approaching I-39, with a bike and walking path connecting to local trails.
Over the next six years, IDOT is planning to improve more than 2,500 miles of highway and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck as part of Rebuild Illinois, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation. Accomplishments through year three of Rebuild Illinois included $8.6 billion of improvements statewide on 4,422 miles of highway, 412 bridges and 621 additional safety improvements.