Crews are expected to begin setting the beams for the bridge being built on Lawrence Street on Friday.

“The abutments for the new bridge have been poured,” said Kathleen Fuller, public information officer for District 9 of the Ohio Department of Transportation. “We are elevating the road and bridge because it is in the flood plain.”

Work to put in a single span concrete box bridge started on June 3 with the street closing to last through the beginning of October.

“The closure portion for all the bridge work is 120 days,” Fuller said.

“With the remaining road work to be open to traffic.”

Contractor for the bridge replacement is DGM out of Beaver with the project costing $916,451.

“When you are doing things with federal money, we build to federal standards, especially if you have an older structure,” Fuller said.

The entire project is scheduled for completion in November.

As far as the $81.3 million replacement of the Ironton-Russell Bridge, the structure is 28 percent complete with the footing for the major Kentucky pier erected in May.

“That is a major milestone,” Fuller said. “From that we will start getting the tower out of the water.”

Work will go back and forth between the Ohio and Kentucky sides as the segments of the piers are erected.

“They usually go back and forth between the towers,” Fuller said. “When they put a bridge in place, you have to have everything balanced and equal.”