Illinois Diverging Diamond Interchange Recognized as Innovative Solution

ROMEOVILLE, IL – Located within one of the fastest growing counties in Illinois, the Weber Road and I-55 Interchange was in need of capacity and safety improvements. To better accommodate the area’s current and future needs, the state led a $96 million project to update the interchange. Now featuring a Diverging Diamond design, the roadway provides improved mobility for the 45,000 daily motorists passing through the interchange as well as safer connectivity for multimodal transportation.

As a result of this success, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) received an America’s Transportation Award in the Best Use of Technology & Innovation category in the Mid-America Region. The award recognizes the project’s use of an innovative solution. The Weber Road Interchange is only the third time a Diverging Diamond design has been implemented in Illinois. The project is now a finalist for the national award which will be given out at the AASHTO conference in November.

Benesch served as the Construction Manager for this project, which required significant coordination with the Will County Division of Transportation and the Villages of Bolingbrook and Romeoville. Additional coordination was needed to implement the project’s complex staging plan in tandem with an adjacent construction project along the corridor.

In addition to the new interchange, the project expanded Weber Road from five lanes to six and included dual left turn lanes at key locations, thereby improving efficiency and safety. New shared-use pathways, sidewalks, traffic signals and roadway lighting bring additional improvements that will serve roadway users of all types. A new two-span bridge over I-55 and reconfigured interchange ramps were constructed to accommodate the diverging diamond configuration.

Benesch’s work on the project was recognized earlier this summer at the ACEC IL Spring Meeting. IDOT presented Benesch with the 2023 Award for Exceptional Consulting Engineering Service in the category of Urban Highway.

“This project certainly deserves all the recognition it has been getting. All of us at Benesch were proud to be able to contribute to its success and love to see everything it has done to improve the area,” said Benesch Senior Project Manager David Cuthbertson.