Drivers across Bloomington-Normal may notice an uptick in construction as the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] invests $123 million in road improvements.
A news release from IDOT said the community will use money from Rebuild Illinois for resurfacing, reconstruction, patching and more. Rebuild Illinois is the largest capital program in state history, with a $33.2 billion investment in infrastructure across Illinois.
Four of the projects pertain to Illinois Route 9, and the three that are ongoing will cause or continue to cause one lane traffic at those locations. The final project on Route 9 will run from summer 2027 to the winter of 2028. The $20 million cost on next year’s undertaking brings the cost of Route 9 construction to $70 million.
“Route 9 is the heart of Bloomington and thousands of Central Illinoisans depend on it every day,” said state Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington. “I'd like to thank IDOT for investing nearly $70 million in making a key artery in our community smoother and safer for drivers and pedestrians alike.”
The ongoing projects on Route 9 center on resurfacing that is in various areas; west of Towanda Avenue, 2.2 miles east of Carnahan Drive, Hinshaw Avenue to Locus Street, Main Street and the east side of Empire Street to Towanda Avenue. The upcoming project will be eastbound, from Towanda Avenue to U.S. Route 51.
The three other ongoing projects — set to be completed in 2026 and 2027 — include construction on College Avenue from U.S. 150 to White Oak Road in Normal, Interstate 74 from U.S. 51 to Le Roy and Interstate 55 from I-74 to Shirley southwest of Bloomington. The three total $53 million and will result in periodic lane closures.
“Thanks to Gov. [JB] Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois, we are continuing to deliver transformational projects up and down the state,” said IDOT secretary Gia Biagi. “We look forward to another safe construction season that benefits the region for decades to come.”
As of March 31, Rebuild Illinois has made $24 billion of improvements on more than 23,000 miles of highways, 920 bridges and 1,393 safety improvements. For a map and further information on Bloomington-Normal’s construction visit IDOT’s news release.
