The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has announced that Illinois Route 1 will be closed starting late next week for the removal of a bridge over an abandoned railroad line. The bridge is located between 11th and 12th Streets in the city of Mt Carmel and according to IDOT officials has concluded it’s life cycle. Rather than building a new bridge, it was determined to be more cost efficient to replace the existing bridge structure with a road. That move saves costs long-term and require less time for Route 1 to be closed to vehicular traffic. A detour will be posted utilizing North Market Street/College Drive and 1550th Boulevard. Only local traffic will be permitted on Route 1 in the project area during the road closure. Work will get underway Thursday June 30th and is anticipated to be completed by mid-August.