IRONTON — The ride to school will be much smoother starting Monday.

Delaware Street, the main artery to three of the city’s public school buildings, will be repaved on Saturday, according to an announcement made by Mayor Rich Blankenship.

The rehabilitation project, introduced as part of the $62,000 resurfacing plan last month, will repave the North Ironton street with hot-mix asphalt. The project will use monies allocated through state highway funds.

The repaving is expected to last one day. The street will have limited access during the repaving process.

Following the rehabilitation of Delaware Street on Saturday, construction crews are expected to repave portions of Thomas and Cliff streets early next week. The unusual Saturday repaving project for Delaware Street was done as not to disrupt weekday school traffic, Blankenship said.

Delaware, along with Cliff, Thomas and McPherson streets, has seen traffic spike tremendously since Ironton City Schools moved their elementary and middle school students into the new school this August.

Traffic congestion on Delaware has made the alternate Thomas-McPherson route a popular one with parents and students alike both to and from school.

Also included in the $62,000 bid package is the rehabilitation of Vernon Street between Fourth and Fifth streets where First Baptist Church’s new Faith and Fitness Center recently opened.