"We really can't work until the utilities are relocated." Kankakee County Engineer Greg Heiden said that at a county Highways and Waterways committee meeting in November 2024. At the time, the widening of County Highway 9 in Manteno was still waiting on ComEd, Nicor, Aqua and a pipeline operator he described as "out of state." Nearly two years later, IDOT announced that paving would begin. If you drive Manteno-Deslem Road between Spruce Street and U.S. 45/52, you are now in a work zone that the Illinois Department of Transportation expects to finish by the end of August 2027.
That date is easy to treat as the end of construction on this road. It isn't. A second plan for Highway 9 begins at the same Spruce Street intersection, costs roughly ten times as much, and has no construction schedule yet.
What the Current Work Is Building
IDOT announced that paving on Kankakee County Highway 9, also signed as Manteno-Deslem Road, would begin Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, between Spruce Street and U.S. 45 and 52. IDOT puts the cost at $9.5 million. In the county's own description, this is an "approximate one-mile stretch."
The original scope from IDOT's May 2024 grant announcement and the July 2026 construction notice include:
- A third lane in the middle of the road, used as a two-way turn lane, between one through lane in each direction
- Shoulders along the rebuilt section
- A new traffic signal at Spruce Street
- A shared path for bicycles and pedestrians
The traffic plan is simple to describe. One lane stays open in each direction for the length of the project. Paving requires temporary closures at Eagles Landing Drive first and Spruce Street second, and IDOT says the two intersections will not be closed at the same time.
Eighteen Years, a Grant and a Steel Pipe
Heiden told the committee in 2024 that this project had been in the works since 2008. The last stretch of that wait is the best documented, and most of it took place underground.
- May 8, 2024. IDOT awards Kankakee County $2.9 million through its Economic Development Program, the largest grant that program had ever made. The project is listed at $9.6 million, the county will oversee it, and construction is expected "next spring."
- November 2024. Heiden reports that IDOT found no glaring errors in the paperwork and hopes for a January bid letting. ComEd and Nicor are close on relocating their lines and Aqua is "a little bit further out." Kinder Morgan still needs to encase a pipeline under the road. "They don't exactly follow our timeline," he said.
- April 2025. The County Board authorizes a reimbursement agreement with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America for a casing extension on the pipeline buried under Highway 9 between U.S. 45/52 and Spruce Street. Heiden says buying the casing could take up to eight months because the steel has to be made in the United States.
- July 27, 2026. IDOT announces that paving will begin Aug. 5, with a $9.5 million price and a completion target of the end of August 2027.
The public record doesn't explain every month between spring 2025 and August 2026. It does show what the county was waiting on, in the engineer's own words: utility lines and a steel casing for a gas pipeline. Heiden also said in April 2025 that he hoped the contractor could work around the pipeline once construction started, to avoid a long delay. The two cost figures, $9.6 million in 2024 and $9.5 million in 2026, come from the two IDOT announcements. Neither release explains the difference.
Why the New Signal Is at Spruce Street
The 2024 grant announcement is direct about who the road is for. It says the signal at Spruce Street "will lead to the new factory entrance," meaning Gotion's battery plant. The Daily Journal has reported the plant's address as 333 S. Spruce St.
Kankakee County Board Chairman Andy Wheeler described the reasoning in the same 2024 announcement:
"The road to producing these products is still paved with asphalt. Getting 2,600 employees and hundreds of trucks in and out of this facility every day is a very good problem to have."
That 2,600 is the job total from Gotion's original announcement of its $2 billion Manteno plant. The most recent figures available are lower and come from 2025. In November 2025, Gotion reported about 300 employees and five production lines in Manteno. In October 2025, local economic development reporting said Gotion projected more than 1,400 jobs during 2026, tied to expanded energy-storage manufacturing. No 2026 headcount has been published yet. The turn lane and the signal were designed for the plant Gotion announced, not for the size it had reached in late 2025.
The Second Project Begins Where This One Ends
IDOT keeps a separate project page for the Manteno Interchange Reconstruction Project, where Interstate 57 crosses County Highway 9, here called West Division Street. Its limits on Highway 9 run from Spruce Street to about 200 feet east of Marquette Plaza. Both projects use Spruce Street as a boundary, and they would leave Highway 9 with very different road sections on each side of that intersection.
| Current widening | I-57 at Manteno interchange | |
|---|---|---|
| Limits on Highway 9 | Spruce Street to U.S. 45/52 | Spruce Street to about 200 feet east of Marquette Plaza |
| Road section | Three lanes, with a two-way turn lane | Five lanes, with auxiliary turn lanes |
| Other work | Shoulders, Spruce Street signal, shared bike and pedestrian path | Ramp realignment, Cypress Street realignment, new Highway 9 bridge over I-57, I-57 milling and resurfacing |
| Cost | $9.5 million | $95 million |
| Schedule | Started Aug. 5, 2026; finish expected by end of August 2027 | Not yet determined |
According to IDOT's page, all ramps are expected to stay open during the interchange work. Some local streets, entrances and ramps may close temporarily, and IDOT will need to acquire additional right of way. The page says Phase II design engineering and land acquisition have started, and that construction is funded in the Fiscal Year 2024-2029 Proposed Highway Improvement Program. The page is undated, though, and still describes a study phase expected to wrap up in 2024.
More recent sources give a clearer picture. IDOT's Aug. 13, 2026 update on Kankakee-area construction says the timeline for the I-57 at Manteno interchange is still being determined. On Sept. 16, 2026, the Daily Journal listed the project at $95 million with the timeline "yet to be determined." When the current widening wraps up in 2027, the stretch between Spruce Street and Marquette Plaza will still be waiting on its own rebuild, with no announced date.
Driving It Between Now and August 2027
The construction details that are publicly available all come from IDOT's July 2026 notice. As of early October, we could not find a newer public update confirming which intersection closure has happened or what stage the work has reached. The closure order below is IDOT's announced plan, not a confirmed record of progress.
- Eagles Landing Drive closes first, then Spruce Street. The two will not be closed at the same time.
- One lane stays open each way on Manteno-Deslem Road. IDOT warns of slow and stopped traffic and suggests alternate routes when feasible. It does not name a specific detour.
- Live conditions are posted on IDOT's traveler map at GettingAroundIllinois.com, and IDOT District 3 posts updates on X as @IDOTDistrict3.
- All work is weather permitting, according to IDOT's announcement.
For the original reasoning behind the project, the May 2024 IDOT grant announcement is the clearest single document. For the next phase, IDOT's Manteno interchange project page is where a schedule would most likely appear first.
If you own a home near Spruce Street, Eagles Landing Drive or the I-57 interchange and want to know how a long construction period could affect the timing of a future sale, Leanne Provost is glad to talk it through with you at a free consultation. You can also get an instant home valuation if you'd like a starting number before deciding anything.
