HWY 127

 Hwy 127 is now open all the way from Old Highway 13 to 146. The closure of the road at Alto Pass allowed IDOT to remove both the crumbling overpass leading to Bald Knob and finish the repairs on 127 from wen part of the roadway collapsed following a lot of rain. that stretch has been a one lane road for almost three years now so glad to see it back to normal with a wider roadbed and, hopefully, more secure support to prevent the collapse from happening again.

New Exit

 IDOT has put in a new exit off Hwy 127 at Alto Pass. Apparently the bridge over 127 at that point has become unsound as it is now closed off. You now have two exits at that location, the original one on the east side that leads to Alto Pass and that drivers took to cross over the bridge to Bald Knob Cross and Peach Barn Vineyard and the new one exiting on the west that allows drivers to bypass the bridge to get to those two locations.

Highway 127

 Looks as if IDOT is starting work on repairing Hwy 127 south of Alto Pass. Several earthmoving vehicles there as well as 3-4 IDOT vehicles. I think it has been about 2 years since the hillside collapsed taking the highway along with it. Glad to see they are starting work on repairing it

Hwy 127

Now if they want to do some work on 127, I would really like to see them add another lane to where 127 and Old Hwy 13 intersect. Lines early in the morning and late afternoon can back up a  quarter mile with people trying to get onto Hwy 13.

Hwy 127 Fix

IDOT is working on the lighting situation at the collapsed section of the Hwy 127 just south of Alto Pass. Apparently the lights have a problem changing at a frequency that keeps traffic moving smoothly.

Hwy 127 4 Lane

We will proabably never see a 4 lane Highway 127 connecting Murphysboro to the Interstate or the St. Louis metro region, simply because of the layout of IDOT districts. Although both are part of Region 5, any 4 lane upgrade would have to go through both district 8 and district 9, the border of which crosses through Pickneyville. While District 9, which contains Carbondale, Marion and Murphysboro is comparatively quiet and not needing much roadwork, district 8 covers the bludgeoning Illinois-St. Louis Metro region, which continually needs money directed toward it for new roads. As long as that is the situation, and it is for the foreseeable future, we will not see any money freed up to direct towards a 4 lane expansion of 127 north of Pickneyville.

Hwy 127 Open

Highway 127 reopened south of Alto Pass, but only one lane. ITOT has put in place a one lane bypass with a traffic light while the reshoring and rebuilding of the main road takes place. Apparently the rain caused part of the road to start cracking and sliding into the valley below

Hwy 127 Roadwork

In another nod to the upcoming eclipse, IDOT has posted there will be work on Hwy 127 just north of Alto Pass but not starting until the end of the month. Apparently we don't want to risk slowing traffic through southern Illinois this weekend.

Hwy 127 Closed

IDOT has a notice up that High 127 is closed south of Alto Pass. There is a pretty back crack in the road there that needs repairing and and no quick way to detour around it. For the immediate future, traffic wanting to use 127 should detour down Highway 51 instead.

Hwy 127 Expansion

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the roadwork on Highway 127 north of Murphysboro is not a precursor to an expansion of the road to 4 lanes but rather a more efficient way of replacing the bridge crossing the Big Muddy River at that point. It is easier and more efficient to build the replacement bridge separately, then move the traffic from the old bridge to the new.

At approximately 5000 cars per day, north Highway 127 does not have enough traffic to justify a 4 lane expansion to Interstate 64. While such an expansion would probably generate more traffic along the route, the Department does not have the money available to invest in such development when there is other, more pressing work, such as along Hwy 13, to complete.

Hwy 127 Detour

Rather amusing that IDOT, due to repairs on Hwy 127 closed it this weekend. Where did they send all of the extra traffic? Down, or up, depending on your point of view, Hwy 51, which, by an incredible piece of timing, was getting resurfaced and down to one lane of traffic this week. Wasn't too bad early in the day but if you got caught later in the afternoon , you were looking at a 10-15 minute wait before getting the go-ahead.

Upcoming Hwy 127 Closure

In case you drive Hwy 127 south of Murphysboro but not regularly, IDOT will close a section of it for about a week starting June 6th. They are doing repair work on a section of the road between Saltpeter Cave and the Cedar Lake/Pomona turnoff, making it somewhat difficult to get to Abbey Ridge Brewery or Alto Pass from Murphysboro for that week.

Fire at Old Drver's Junction

The Old Dover's Junction building, which has stood for a number of years at the intersection of 127 and 146 east of Anna/Jonesboro burned today. Still smoldering late this afternoon when I shot this photo. No idea what caused it but certainly does not look like a controlled burn.