State Receiving Grant Funds to Widen I-57 in Franklin, Williamson Counties

The state of Illinois is receiving a $7.6 million grant to add lanes and help ease the flow of traffic in an often-congested, 5-mile stretch of Interstate 57 between Johnston City and Pond Creek.

“Interstate 57 is critical to the economy of our state and a major reason why Illinois is the freight capital of the Midwest,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. “We are pleased that this overdue project can proceed.”

The funds will be used to add a new lane in each direction, resurface existing lanes and install new pavement markings, rumble strips, guardrails and median barriers to prevent crossover crashes.

Approximately 39,300 vehicles travel I-57 through Williamson and Franklin counties each day, nearly a third of which is truck traffic. That number can surge to more than 65,000 vehicles a day during high-travel periods in the summer, causing traffic backups that spill onto surrounding local roads and creating gridlock throughout the region.

The grant is being funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

The total estimated cost of construction is $12.7 million. Construction is to begin in Spring 2019 and end in late 2020.