Interstate 57 - Future

Future

Interstate 57 may eventually be extended west along the U.S Route 60 corridor and then turn south along the future U.S Route 67 freeway corridor and head south to Little Rock, Arkansas. However, it conflicts with Arkansas's plans to extend Interstate 30 along that alignment.

Illinois Department of Transportation has proposed widening a section of I-57 to six lanes of traffic from I-24 to I-64. This section of interstate has some of the highest AADT on I-57 outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, with truck traffic amounting up to 30% of all traffic in spots. This section of I-57 has been the site of several interstate closing accidents in the past 10 years, including an incident involving a train derailment over the interstate near Benton in July 2004 and several fatal accidents in various construction zones. The section in Mt. Vernon is due to be widened by 2013 with construction starting later in 2011.

The IDOT and the Illinois Toll Highway Authority have announced plans to build an interchange at the junction of Interstate 57 with Interstate 294, one of only two locations where interstate highways cross without an interchange.