4/29/26 UPDATE: Work underway on U.S. 20-Illinois 73 intersection reconstruction
UPDATE 4/29/26: U.S. 20 traffic will be routed to the new runaround and the south leg of Illinois 73 at U.S. 20 will close to traffic on Friday, May 1. The north leg of Illinois 73 closed on April 16.
Illinois 73 traffic will follow a posted detour of Galena Road, U.S. 20, Illinois 26 and Illinois 72.
LENA – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that a project is underway to reconstruct the intersection of U.S. 20 and Illinois 73 in Lena. The work is expected to take one construction season to complete.
The $11.8 million project will include grading, culvert replacement, adding turn lanes and installing traffic signals. Also, U.S. 20 will be improved from Rees Road to about a half-mile west of Illinois 73. Illinois 73 will be improved just north and south of U.S. 20.
Work will be done in the following stages:
- March 28: Resume work on a temporary runaround for U.S. 20 north of the intersection. Work on the runaround began in late 2025.
- April 20: Closure of the north leg of Illinois 73 at U.S. 20 to finish the temporary runaround. Illinois 73 will follow a posted detour of Galena Road, U.S. 20, Illinois 26 and Illinois 72. The south leg of Illinois 73 is not affected by this closure.
- Late April: Completion of the temporary runaround and rerouting of U.S. 20 onto it to construct the new intersection. The south leg of Illinois 73 will be closed at U.S. 20, and all Illinois 73 traffic will follow a posted detour of Galena Road, U.S. 20, Illinois 26 and Illinois 72.
- Oct. 8: Anticipated end of Illinois 73 detour.
There will be no detour of U.S. 20 in the area, as traffic will utilize the temporary runaround to travel through. However, one lane of traffic will be open and controlled by temporary signals on a portion of U.S. 20 in the work zone. The entire project is expected to wrap up in early November.
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Drivers are urged to pay close attention to changed conditions and signs in the work zone areas, obey the posted speed limits, refrain from using mobile devices and be alert for workers and equipment.
Over the next six years, IDOT is planning to improve 7,107 lane miles of highway and 8.4 million square feet of bridge deck as part of Rebuild Illinois, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation. Accomplishments through Year Six of Rebuild Illinois include almost $20.8 billion of improvements statewide to 21,309 lane miles of highway, 815 bridges and 1,181 additional safety improvements.
For IDOT District 2 updates, follow us on X at @IDOTDistrict2 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.
Kristophere’ Owens
Paul Wappel
