Illinois DOT Crews Extend Life of I-24 Ohio River Bridge

Illinois DOT is extending the life of the I-24 Ohio River bridge with a $38 million project to address structural issues until a new bridge can be built in the next two decades. Challenges include heavy traffic, narrow lanes, and minimizing accidents during construction. The project aims to improve safety and traffic flow, part of a broader plan to enhance transportation infrastructure in Illinois.

September 23, 2025 - Midwest Edition #20
Lori Tobias – CEG Correspondent

Illinois Department of Transportation District 9 photo

“Plans are under way to replace this bridge in the next 20 years,” said Ben Willis, construction engineer, IDOT District 9.

The bridge is 19 spans and 5,560 ft. long. (Illinois Department of Transportation District 9 photo)

A three-year, $38 million project on the I-24 Ohio River bridge is expected to extend the life of the 52-year-old structure until the Illinois Department Transportation (IDOT) can build a new one.

"Plans are under way to replace this bridge in the next 20 years," said Ben Willis, construction engineer, IDOT District 9. "This is a four-lane structure, and we're moving rapidly toward needing six lanes at this location due to the increase the traffic. We're in phase one studies to build the new structure, but it's probably 20 years before construction is complete. So, because it takes so long to build a new bridge, we need to get this thing to its end of life."

Illinois Department of Transportation District 9 photo

Work in the first phase, which began in the spring of 2025, included the installation of a new deck overlay, replacement of expansion joints, repairs to structural steel, painting the bridge and resurfacing the pavement.

The work called for lane closures, a significant challenge due to the high traffic of an average of 34,000 cars daily, and limited space. The bridge is 19 spans and 5,560 ft. long.

"Lane closures are separated by concrete barriers," Willis said. "We have two 12-foot lanes in each direction with three-foot shoulders. So, when we get the barrier out there for protection, it's narrow. The barrier takes up two feet. That's one of the other challenges, managing structures built in the ‘60s. They don't have the same standards that we have today, which we would build them on with three-foot shoulders. I would say that an additional challenge, along with the traffic volumes, it's just the narrowness of the bridge."

But alerting drivers to the narrow passage can also cause its own problems, namely causing drivers to slow down when it's not necessary and causing accidents.

IDOT has made traffic management a priority, early on alerting travelers to the coming changes.

"I ran a campaign prior to the project to get people acclimated to how it works," said Dawn Johnson, IDOT spokeswoman. "We have a lot of tools to mitigate traffic backups as much as possible, such as signage that will shoot out messages in advance of drivers getting to places where there is congestion. We've also worked in conjunction with other partners when it comes to making sure we're reducing the speed. We wanted to make sure that people are aware — stay focused; keep the phones down; slow down; give the car ahead space."

So far, the state's efforts seem to be paying off, Willis said.

"This is a high accident location even in normal configuration. The last time we did work on this segment, there were even some fatalities. This was our biggest concern. So far, we're seeing positive results."

Another challenge, also due to the narrowness, is restrictions on heavy equipment.

Illinois Department of Transportation District 9 photo

"We have limitations for how much heavy stuff we're putting on the bridge deck," Willis said. "So, when we're building the expansion joints, that's a lot of hand work with jack hammers, possibly a steamer on a smaller skid steer. We're not using cranes. We're not using track hoes. The cool thing is there's a cable-driven scaffold system underneath the structure that gives access to some structural steel repairs for the joints. It's a working platform for the workers to get underneath the bridge."

Work on the first phase will end in the fall, then resume in the spring of 2026. Year two will involve placing traffic on crossovers on one side of the structure to the other so crews can apply a micro silica overlay. Year three will be finishing the remaining miscellaneous tasks, with completion set for September 2027.

The project is part of improvements IDOT is planning for the coming years, including improving 3,200 mi. of highway and nearly 9 million sq. ft. of bridge deck. It's all part of Rebuild Illinois, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation. Recent completed projects include approximately $16 billion in improvements statewide on 6,541 mi. of highway, 686 bridges and 986 additional safety improvements. CEG

Lori Tobias

Lori Tobias is a career journalist, formerly on staff as the Oregon Coast reporter at The Oregonian and as a columnist and features writer at the Rocky Mountain News. She is the author of the memoir, Storm Beat - A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast, and the novel Wander, winner of the Nancy Pearl Literary Award in 2017. She has freelanced for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Denver Post, Alaska Airlines in-flight, Natural Home, Spotlight Germany, Vegetarian Times and the Miami Herald. She is an avid reader, enjoys kayaking, traveling and exploring the Oregon Coast where she lives with her husband Chan and rescue pups, Gus and Lily.