Illinois 9 [Empire Street] will be closed from Towanda Avenue to Colton Avenue near the north side of Bloomington High School [BHS] on Sept. 3 and 4.
Closure of the one-way street travelling westbound makes way for a $15.4 million investment reconstructing the pavement.
If necessary, construction may continue from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 8.
District 87 Director of Communications Gina Lavazza said BHS traffic and buses will be rerouted, and extra support with traffic was requested from the Bloomington Police Department.
BHS students were sent home with a road closure notice and traffic map indicating where cars and buses will be rerouted.
The Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] urged drivers to pay close attention to changed conditions and work zone signs. Follow posted speed limits and refrain from using mobile devices.
IDOT plans to improve 7,107 lane miles of highway and 8.4 million square feet of bridge deck over the next six years. This road construction is part of Rebuild Illinois, a capital program investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation.
So far, IDOT has improved 21,309 lane miles of highway, 815 bridges and 1,181 additional projects statewide for Rebuild Illinois, totaling to almost $20.8 billion worth of improvements. That includes seven projects throughout McLean County, four of which apply to Route 9.
