Second Rebuild I-39 open house set for Feb. 18

ROCKFORD – The Illinois Department of Transportation will hold an open house to provide updates on the progress of the Rebuild Interstate 39 project through Rockford and Cherry Valley. The event will include guidance on work that will continue this construction season to convert the I-39/U.S. 20 and Harrison Avenue cloverleaf interchange into a diverging diamond interchange.

The event will be held:

Tuesday, Feb. 18

4-6:30 p.m.

CherryVale Mall, Suite L-114 (near Chico’s)

7200 Harrison Ave., Rockford

No formal presentation will be made at this event. IDOT representatives will be available at the open house to explain the DDI project and how to navigate it, provide updates, answer individual questions, and record public comments offered by those in attendance. Attendees also can view project displays, handouts, preliminary reports, maps, and aerial photography. After the meeting, all exhibits and handouts from the meeting will be posted on the project website, RebuildI39.com.

The location of the meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. For any special accommodation or assistance requests, please contact Roosevelt Moneyham III at rmoneyham@rmchin.com by Thursday, Feb. 13.

Rebuild I-39 is a $302 million, multiyear reconstruction project between the Harrison Avenue interchange and Blackhawk Road. Work began in 2023 with the reconstruction of the I-39/U.S. 20 interchange, which was completed in 2024. Work began in 2024 to convert the Harrison Avenue/U.S. 20 interchange from a cloverleaf to a diverging diamond interchange. The majority of the project will be substantially complete by the end of this year, with miscellaneous work to be completed in early 2026.

Other projects include expanding I-39 from four to six lanes with an accessory lane between U.S. 20 and Harrison Avenue as well as replacing several bridges in the corridor. Also, U.S. 20 will be expanded from four to six lanes at the intersection of Mill Road, with the bridges crossing the Kishwaukee River replaced with wider structures.

Over the next six years, IDOT is planning to improve more than 3,000 miles of highway and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation. Accomplishments through Year Five of Rebuild Illinois include approximately $16 billion of improvements statewide on 6,541 miles of highway, 686 bridges and 986 additional safety improvements.

Click here to watch a video demonstration on how to drive along the DDI. For the latest updates on Rebuild I-39 and IDOT District 2, visit RebuildI39.com, follow us on X at @RebuildI39 and @IDOTDistrict2 and on Facebook at Rebuild I-39. Further construction information is available on IDOT's traveler information map, accessed at GettingAroundIllinois.com.