A northbound lane of I-55 near Pontiac will remain closed at least a month. Repairs to the Vermilion River bridge need to be made following an accident.

I-DOT reports the work won't begin for about 2-3 weeks. And in the meantime, there could be some traffic back-ups, especialy with the July 4th holiday.

The Illinois Department of Transportation closed the passing lane of Interstate 55 after a semi truck-trailer unit hit the bridge and caught fire last Sunday night. Bruce Hucker, an operations engineer for IDOT District 3, said the temporary repairs will take about two weeks.

Workers will reinforce two steel support beams that engineers believe were damaged by heat from the fire. Hucker said the state is working on a plan for permanent repairs.

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