Illinois starts critical $164M I-80 bridge project. The spans over the Des Plaines River are the final phase of the $1.3 billion multi-year plan to overhaul Interstate 80 through Illinois. Published May 29, 2026 Earlier this month, a key portion of a massive overhaul of Interstate 80 in Illinois broke ground. State officials and a building team of Coal City, Illinois-based D Construction and Kansas City, Missouri-based HNTB began work on new I-80 bridges over the Des Plaines River, according to an announcement from Gov. JB Pritzker's office. The $164 million spans will replace structures originally built in the 1960s, according to the announcement. These new, concrete bridges will be located 300 feet to the north and will be wider than the previous spans. The new bridges are expected to be complete in 2028, with the old bridges scheduled for demolition in 2029. All told, the crossings are the centerpieces of a $1.3 billion effort to modernize and rehabilitate I-80 in Illinois, a critical thoroughfare that serves as one of the country's three coast-to-coast highways. The highway begins in San Francisco and ends in New Jersey. The overall I-80 rehab in Illinois will see construction teams redesign and rebuild 16 miles of the highway, from Ridge Road in Minooka to U.S. 30 in Joliet and New Lenox, according to the announcement. "This milestone represents significant progress on one of the most important infrastructure investments in our region," said Terry D'Arcy, mayor of Joliet, Illinois, in the May 22 release. "The reconstruction of the Des Plaines River bridge and surrounding I-80 corridor will strengthen a critical transportation route that serves residents, businesses, and commerce throughout the country." The city of Joliet benefits mightily from I-80 traffic - the interstate carries approximately 80,000 vehicles a day, about 25% of which are trucks, through the city, according to the announcement. The value of freight passing through surrounding Will County is over $600 billion annually. In October, Illinois committed approximately $50.6 billion to infrastructure improvements across the state. Of that money, $32.5 billion is earmarked for roads and bridges, and $18.1 billion is set aside for transit, rail, aviation, ports and waterways. In particular, the city of Chicago has been busy on the infrastructure front. An AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa joint venture and the Chicago Department of Aviation recently started vertical construction on O'Hare International Airport's new, $1.45 billion Concourse D project. Contractors also broke ground on the $5.7 billion Red Line Extension, which will bring rapid rail transit to Chicago's Far South Side neighborhood.

Busiest airports on the planet in 2025 revealed by ACI World. ACI World today revealed the top 10 airport rankings for passengers, cargo and aircraft movements in 2025, confirming that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the busiest passenger gateway on the planet, and still the only hub handling more than 100 million travellers per annum. The top five busiest airports for passenger traffic is completed by Dubai International (DXB), Tokyo Haneda (HND), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG). Hong Kong (HKG) retained its status as the world's busiest cargo airport and Chicago O'Hare (ORD) its No.1 ranking as the busiest for airport aircraft movements. ACI World director general, Justin Erbacci, said: "We congratulate the world's busiest airports for managing growing air travel demand amid increasing operational complexity. "These hubs keep people and goods moving, supporting global trade, tourism, and economic growth in their communities and regions. To help keep pace with rising demand, governments must prioritise sustained investment in airports and the broader aviation ecosystem." PASSENGER HIGHLIGHTS ACI World reveals that an estimated 9.8 billion passengers passed through the world's airports in 2025 - 3.6% more than in 2024 and a gain of 7.3% on pre-COVID 2019. The top 10 busiest airports for total passenger traffic represent 9% of global passenger traffic. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta handled 106.3 million passengers in 2025 followed by DXB with 95.2 million and Tokyo Haneda with 91.7 million. Shanghai Pudong recorded the biggest jump in the top 10, rising from tenth to fifth.This growth was supported by international traffic recovery, visa policy easing, and expanded connectivity. Guangzhou Baiyun rebounds to nine position, up from 57th in 2022. Four airports in the top 10 are in the United States, reflecting continued market strength. They all have significant domestic passenger shares (80-95% domestic traffic). INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS According to ACI Wold data, international passenger traffic reached four billion in 2025, representing a gain of 5.9% vs 2024 and 8.3% vs 2019. The top 10 busiest airports for international passenger traffic account for 17% of total international traffic. Dubai International Airport remains the busiest international airport in the world followed by London Heathrow, the long time holder of the accolade, and and Incheon in South Korea. ACI World reveals that air cargo volumes are estimated to have increased by 2.9% year-over-year (almost +8.8% versus 2019), to almost 128.9 million metric tonnes in 2025. Air cargo traffic is more concentrated amongst the main airports. Air cargo volumes in the top 10 airports represent close to 26% of global air cargo traffic. The increase, says ACI, is driven by strong e-commerce demand and supply chain adjustments. Hong Kong and Shanghai Pudong remain in first and second rank respectively, and Anchorage comes in third, AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS ACI World data estimates that there were around 101.5 million aircraft movements in 2025, an increase of 2.3% compared to 2024, but still marginally below pre-COVID 2019 levels. Chicago O'Hare ranks first, followed by Atlanta, and Dallas Fort Worth, Denver and Los Vegas - all in the US. Indeed, seven of the top ten busiest airports in the world for aircraft movements are in the United States. The top 10 represent 6.4% of all global aircraft movements.