Crews began preliminary work to reconstruct the Route 20 interchange at McLean Boulevard this week.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will install two concrete retaining walls and temporarily widen Route 20 at McLean Boulevard in preparation for the interchange project. It also plans to realign the Shepard Drive intersection with Weld Road in addition to reconstructing and widening the intersection of Shepard and Fleetwood drives.

Officials say the work will take place through the winter and could cause occasional daytime lane closures on Route 20, Shepard, Fleetwood and Weld as well as intermittent overnight closures on McLean and Route 20.

The work, estimated at $9.8 million, is scheduled for completion in fall 2012. Once it is complete, crews will reconstruct the Route 20 and McLean interchange, a $30.8 million project aimed at providing motorists with a wider roadway and improved traffic signals and street lights in addition to bike paths and sidewalks.

Reconstruction should wrap up in fall 2014.