Major changes are coming to a deadly Henry County intersection.
Prep work has begun at the intersection of Route 6 and Illinois 84, just south of Colona. The Illinois Department of Transportation will be adding turn lanes, installing traffic signals, and changing the grade of the highway as part of a $5 million project.
"It'll make it a safer intersection for people to travel through. It will improve efficiency of people waiting there to turn left. You'll have turn lanes, so you won't have to worry about getting hit from behind by another vehicle, because you'll have exclusive lanes for people that need to make turns and need to wait at the intersection," said IDOT engineer John Wegmeyer.
The changes are a victory for former police officer Jeff Wilson, who lost his friend in a deadly crash at the intersection. Two years ago, Scott Teerlinck and his 10-year-old son, Luke, were killed in an accident at the site.
"You know, loss is hard, and I've lost a child also. I know what it's like. So, this was just something that was important to me, and I didn't want to see it ever happen again," said Wilson.
Since the crash, Wilson has pushed for a stop light at the intersection. Wednesday, he said he was excited to see that work had finally started.
"It just really, really does me good to know that they are finally going to fix the problem," said Wilson.
After the Fourth of July weekend, the intersection will be closed for construction.
Work is expected to take around 90 days.