Starting Monday, the section of West Main Street between Buchanan Boulevard and Swift Avenue at Broad Street is closed as crews work on a state bridge replacement project.
"It's an inconvenience to a lot of people, because as you can see now a lot of traffic going up and down the road so it's a very big convenience ," commuter Chakenya Denson said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is demolishing and rebuilding the bridge over Campus Drive, which connects Duke's East and West campuses, to meet current design standards.
The project's engineer, Jamal Atkins with the NCDOT, told ABC11 that there are cracks in the concrete of the current 63-year-old structure and it is a safety concern.
The new bridge will include a higher clearance underneath and the addition of bike lanes -- costing around $1.9 million.
Detour signs were posted around the area on Monday.
Motorists traveling east on Main Street are being guided to use Swift Avenue to NC-147 to Chapel Hill Street to Duke Street.
Drivers going west on Main Street should use Gregson Street to Chapel Hill Street to NC-147 to Swift Avenue.
Besides the construction causing travel delays, bus routes and pedestrian paths are also being impacted temporarily.
"We'll have pedestrian detours using the gravel path on East Campus," Atkins said. "We ask that they allow for a little more traveling time and they use the detours around this area."
Work is expected to complete by Sept. 20.
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