Residents will soon get smooth driving after months of dust and drilling on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive.

Construction at the intersection at Liberty Road won’t be finished until fall, but the bridge over Liberty Road may be drivable as soon as the end of June, Project Engineer Nellie Wimberly said.

“Right now, we’re paving the end of the bridge,” Wimberly said. “We’re trying to get everything lined up to put traffic back on the bridge so we can tear out the detours and finish the work.”

And although the bridge will be drivable soon, opening the road it crosses will happen later in the summer, she said.

Workers still have to install guardrails and decorative pieces on the bridge, and it’s a good idea to have the area below where they’re working clear of cars, Wimberly said.

“Nobody should drive under the bridge while we’re still working on it,” she said. “One block (of concrete) will weigh nine tons. (If it fell), that would totally smash your car.”

Construction began in the fall of 2005, aimed at replacing ageing bridges, and the $18.5 million project is funded mostly from the federal government.

The old bridges, now torn down, were built in the 1950s and needed work.

The new bridges, designed to serve four lanes of traffic with two turn lanes, are intended make traffic run more smoothly.

Over the next few weeks, residents will see workers painting the bridge, installing decorative pieces on the bridge and pouring driveways in front of businesses, she said.

“Pretty soon, they’re going to be able to see how nice (the bridge) will look when it’s finished,” she said. “It’s going to be beautiful.”

The project is more or less on schedule, and the intersection is slated to open in September.

In the meantime, Wimberly asked that residents have patience, watch for changes in traffic patterns, like detours, and drive carefully.