PEORIA, Ill. — Crews working with the Illinois Department of Transportation spent “several hours” repairing a major roadway buckle that happened late Wednesday as many local commuters were making their way home.
It happened along an already crumbling stretch of Illinois Route 6 between the major interchange with Interstate 74 and the ramps at U.S. 150 (War Memorial Drive) near the Grand Prairie Shopping Center.
Initial reports about the pavement failure began coming into the WMBD newsroom around 3:30 p.m.
Illinois State Police and IDOT crews were able to assemble a fairly quick response, beginning the repair work shortly after 4 p.m.
IDOT spokesman Paul Wappel says it took until the evening hours to fully repair both travel lanes.
Several drivers reportedly suffered damage with flat tires, but there were no injuries reported as a result of the incident.
Wappel says, essentially, these things happen in Illinois due largely to environmental impacts with climate and weather.
Extreme cold in winter mixes with fast rising temperatures in late spring and summer, causing stress on the concrete and pavement, often causing cracks and failures.
At the same time, the state continues a six year infrastructure improvement initiative called “Rebuild Illionis”, initiated by Governor J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers in 2019.
There is no indication that Illinois Route 6 is included in the list of projects as part of that initiative.
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