Chillicothe -- With a resurfacing and repair project set to begin on the Ironton-Russell Bridge, motorists crossing the Ohio River on the bridge that spans the two communities will face lane restrictions and intermittent periods of delay in the upcoming weeks.

Representatives from Intech Contracting of Lexington, Kentucky, have

met with Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 engineers to review

the project's plans and set their timetable for completing all work. Currently, the project is scheduled to begin Saturday, October 19, with the contractors beginning to remove the wearing surface and perform milling operations.

Throughout most of this project, the bridge will remain open to at least one lane of two-way traffic; however, there will be periods in which full closure of the bridge will be necessary. The following is a schedule for the periods of closure:

Saturday, October 19, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, October 25, and Saturday, October 26, 8 p.m. (Friday) through

4 p.m. (Saturday)

-- Sunday, October 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During the periods of closure, motorists will be detoured via the Ashland, Kentucky, bridge and U.S. Route 52. At all other times during the project, traffic will be maintained by flaggers as needed, and the lane restrictions are expected to be limited to daytime business hours.

Intech was awarded a contract in the amount of $144,812.39 for a project to remove the existing wearing surface and replace loose sections of concrete-filled steel grid decking with new material. The contractors will also patch deteriorated concrete and place new asphalt wearing surface on the bridge where the surface is failing.

The completion date for all work associated with this project is October 31. From staff reports