One-way bypasses on U.S. Hwy. 281 to open this week

Preparation work for the U.S. Highway 281 project is nearing completion. This past week crews have worked to build the bypass entrances on both the north and south sides of town along U.S. Hwy. 281 in preparation for Phase I, which involves a 2 inch asphalt overlay on the highway.

At a construction meeting on Thursday, Aug. 1, Border States Paving noted that the bypasses would be paved beginning as early as today (Aug. 5) and completed later this week.

The bypasses are expected to open on Thursday, Aug. 8. At that time all traffic will be diverted off U.S. Hwy. 281 and onto the one-way bypasses. The map above illustrates that traffic on the west frontage road will travel south, and motorists traveling north will use the east frontage road. The speed limit will be 25 mph throughout the duration of the project, and motorists are urged to use caution and obey all directional signage along the route.

Also during Phase I, which is during the resurfacing of the highway itself, certain access points will be closed to traffic. Again, the map above illustrates that the access points marked with red "x" will be closed. The remaining accesses, including Third Avenue North, Central Avenue, Second Avenue South and Fifth Avenue South, will remain open.