Commuters should prepare for lane closures on both eastbound and westbound Interstate 64 between West Highway 50 at exit 14 and Illinois 158 at Exit 19, starting Friday, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced.
The closures are part of IDOT’s preparations for improvements at the Green Mount Road exit and additional I-64 work. Traffic volume along this corridor has increased more than 40% in the past 20 years and continues to rise, according to IDOT.
The lanes will be open, however, during peak travel periods of 6 to 9 a.m. westbound and 6 to 9 p.m. eastbound, Monday through Friday. The lane restrictions are expected to last through mid-December, weather permitting.
The project will particularly affect O’Fallon, Shiloh and Scott Air Force Base. Local officials urge drivers to take alternate routes, expect delays and plan for longer travel times.
“While there may be occasional short-term, off-peak temporary lane closures or ramp detours, IDOT’s goal is to keep four lanes of traffic open to the public during all stages of construction,” a department spokesperson said.
This work is an early phase of a $72.45 million project to widen, resurface and upgrade the interchange and drainage along a three-mile stretch of I-64, from just west of Green Mount Road to 1.1 miles west of Illinois 158 in St. Clair County. Major construction is anticipated to begin this winter.
The project is necessary to address increased capacity demands resulting from area development, the IDOT spokesperson said. Work is expected to take 18 to 24 months.
Cars can stack up on I-64’s eastbound Exit 16 ramp as they wait at the traffic light at the North Green Mount Road intersection, those who use it have complained. At times the line of cars is so long that it backs up onto the interstate, creating the potential for rear-end crashes from oncoming traffic.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, raised concerns about the danger in September 2024 after seeing a viral TikTok video of traffic backing up onto I-64 from the Exit 16 ramp, with most cars waiting to turn right into Shiloh.
Interstate-64 was constructed in 1975 with four 12-foot lanes, but traffic growth and nearby development have necessitated several upgrades. In 2000, the Green Mount Road interchange was built, and the interstate was widened from four to six lanes between Illinois 157 and Green Mount.
A new interchange at Reider Road was added in 2014, expanding the highway to six lanes from west of Illinois 158 to east of Reider Road.
In the past two decades, average daily traffic on I-64 has climbed from 42,400 to 59,200 vehicles — a 40% increase. IDOT projects the corridor will see 72,800 vehicles per day by 2038, with truck traffic rising 14.5%.
Current volumes exceed the capacity of the four-lane section, resulting in significant delays at the Green Mount Road interchange. The design cannot accommodate peak-hour traffic, leading to backups and congestion.
Planned improvements include:
- Widening the eastbound and westbound exit ramps to provide two left and two right turn lanes at Green Mount Road.
- Widening Green Mount Road to add northbound and southbound right turn lanes at the I-64 on-ramps.
- At the intersection of Green Mount Crossing and Central Park Drive, construction of two southbound left-turn lanes, two southbound through lanes, and two southbound right-turn lanes.
- Addressing freeway standards for vertical clearance under bridges and shoulder widths.
Safety is also a concern. Between 2017 and 2022, this segment of I-64 experienced 149 crashes, including four fatalities.
The project will widen the interstate within the existing grass median to provide three lanes in each direction with wider shoulders, consistent with the six-lane configuration elsewhere on I-64.
A concrete median barrier will be constructed between eastbound and westbound lanes to prevent crossover crashes, and vertical clearances under the Green Mount Road and Lincoln Avenue bridges will be increased to accommodate larger trucks.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Lynn Venhaus is a freelance reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
