Benton lanes reduced for bridge work preparation

Benton Street between River Street and Broadway Avenue in downtown Aurora will be down to one lane eastbound until Monday, Feb. 6, to prepare the road to become a two-way thoroughfare during Downer Place bridge replacement.

Benton will reopen as a two-way street Feb. 6, when Downer will be closed between River and Broadway for the bridge project’s scheduled start date.

The Downer bridges, built in the early 1900s, have been deemed structurally deficient by the Illinois Department of Transportation. They are expected to be rebuilt over a nine-month period before reopening to traffic.

Drivers are encouraged to use New York Street and North Avenue to bypass the construction site or follow a detour route south down Broadway Avenue, west on Benton Street, north on River Street, then west again on Downer.