Will County News

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, announced that the District and the States of Illinois and Michigan had signed a partnership agreement for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project.   The Brandon Road Lock and Dam,  shown partially in the video below, is viewed as a critical pinch point for stopping invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes: The signed partnership agreement "allows $274 million in federal funding, including $226 million provided by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and $114 million in state funding to be used for construction of the first of three construction increments of the $1.15 billion project designed to prevent the upstream movement of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes" according to the Army Corps' press release . The Brandon Road Interbasin Project will consist of acoustic and electric deterrents, along with a leading edge bubbler and a flushing lock, according to...

  On September 14, 2023, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced the Brandon Road bridge would remain closed for repairs until late 2024. Brandon Road Bridge in Joliet Notice from IDOT: " The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that Brandon Road bridge over the Des Plaines River, in Joliet, is closed as a result of a mechanical component malfunction. The bridge will remain closed to begin repairs, originally scheduled to start later this month. The $3.4 million project includes repairing the bridge deck, joints and brakes, replacing mechanical components and structural steel. Additionally, as part of upgrading the downtown movable bridges to allow them to be controlled from a central location, new aerial cables and control system will be installed, along with various tender house upgrades. The project is anticipated to be completed late 2024. A detour will direct motorists to McDonough Street via U.S. 6, U.S. 52/Illinois 53 and Laraway Road to cro...

Before closing for repairs in 2019, the Brandon Road bridge was a favorite shortcut over the Des Plaines River to avoid I-80 or downtown Joliet. Barge traffic did make for frequent delays while barges and boats navigated the locks at Brandon Road, but waiting traffic could take in the nature of the Des Plaines River:

Will County residents likely associate Brandon Road with the bridge that provides an alternative to I-80 or the downtown Joliet bridges over the Des Plaines River-- the river that connects the Illinois River to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and, ultimately, Lake Michigan. The recent discovery of an Asian Carp nine miles from Lake Michigan in the Calumet River, however, has drawn attention to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam and its importance in the fight to keep Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed a study regarding how the Brandon Road Lock and Dam could be improved to stop Asian Carp from continuing north on the Des Plaines.  The White House, however, has delayed the public release of that study. Map showing the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in relation to the presence of Asian Carps in the waters near Lake Michigan.  Map courtesy of Prairie Rivers Network, which created the map with data from ...