The new Houbolt Road Bridge will link the Interstate 80 highway and the intermodal facilities in Will County that make up the port. The project is estimated to cost between US$170 million and US$190 million.
The agreement is between the Illinois Department of Transportation, CenterPoint, the City of Joliet and Will County. Under the agreement, CenterPoint will build and operate the new tolled bridge on Houbolt Road over the Des Plaines River and the railway tracks. Will County is required to pass a resolution allowing tolls to be issued and collected by CenterPoint.
“By working closely with all stakeholders involved, we have come up with a creative approach that can be a model to solving infrastructure needs elsewhere in the state," said Illinois transportation secretary Randy Blankenhorn.
Construction could start as soon as 2017, with the bridge opening to traffic in late 2018 or early 2019.
