08/22/2025
Finally! I-74 Westbound "flyover" ramp to I-57 Southbound opens tomorrow. (I use this route often).
CHAMPAIGN — Just in time for the return of University of Illinois traffic: more ramps opening on the Interstate 57/74 overpass west of Champaign.
That includes the first flyover ramp — westbound I-74 to southbound I-57 — which is expected to open Wednesday, making it the fifth of the eight ramps to become operational.
Project Implementation Engineer Ken Crawford said the remaining three ramps could be opened by the end of the year, but that might be optimistic.
“It’s tentative,” he said of opening the final one. “The weather has kind of changed that. We’re still shooting to get them all this year. We’re not sure if we will be able to get one of the ramps.”
The ramp in question is the southbound I-57 ramp to eastbound I-74.
“Logistically it’s better to wait to complete it,” Crawford said.
“It’s in the way of the work on I-57 if we open it. We’re kind of delaying that.”
Other ramps expected to be finished this year are southbound I-57 to westbound I-74 and the eastbound I-74 to northbound I-57 flyover ramp.
Lane closures are no longer a thing on I-57. Present are barrier walls in the median.
“We’re definitely rolling,” Crawford said as work to rebuild that area of I-57 has begun in earnest.
“It will be all new for about half mile on either side of I-74 north and south. Right now we’re maintaining two lanes of traffic so there’s no issues of restricting mobility through the work zone.”
The interchange was designed in 1958 and built in 1965. Its outdated design no longer meets current traffic volumes and has experienced operational problems due to deficient geometric features.
The juncture serves nearly 40,000 vehicles a day.
More details... https://www.news-gazette.com/news/first-57-74-flyover-set-to-open/article_5e8b2d99-2d32-4fd7-a46f-5c9881c23ae4.html
https://vermilionweather.com/news.php
