PROCTORVILLE - Motorists in eastern Lawrence County might want to leave a little early since delays are expected after the East Huntington Bridge was closed today.

The cable-stayed bridge that connects to State Route 7 in Proctorville is closed for a four-week repair project. The access to West Virginia will be reopened just in time for the holiday shopping season.

The bridge will be reopened Nov. 17, said Jeff Ball, district bridge engineer with the West Virginia Department of Transportation’s Division of Highways.

&uot;We just have to close it down,“ Ball said. &#8221There is no way to maintain traffic.&uot;

Motorists will be detoured to the West 17th Street Bridge or the Robert C. Byrd Bridge near Huntington’s downtown 5th Street.

The two-lane bridge with a main span of nearly 2,000 feet is simply too narrow to allow for repairs with traffic on it, he said.

The repairs include replacing two failed expansion joints that allow the bridge to move and resist stress and replacing cracked casings on several suspension cables that are allowing moisture to rust the cable.