I-55 reopens in Channahon, more than 2 days after tornado downed powerlines

CHANNAHON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -A portion of I-55 in Channahon that had been closed since Monday night when tornadoes ripped through has reopened.

Illinois State Police have cleared away cars and semis from a seven-mile stretch of I-55 after ComEd crews worked to remove and repair transmission lines and the 200-foot steel towers brought down by winds reaching 105 mph.

Jennifer Sternal told CBS Chicago she was driving on the highway during the storms.

“Honestly, I was a little terrified because I assumed they were live wires, just a scary feeling because you didn’t know what they were going to do, if they were going to continue to snap…It was definitely scary,” Sternal said.

Utility crews had power lines out of the way sometime overnight.

In its most recent update, ComEd said there are still almost 1,300 outages, affecting more than 22,000 homes and businesses.

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