The change won't really impact daily drivers, as the lanes are just shifted over a few feet. No lanes are taken in the process. This may happen as early as the end of the month.
The bigger task is realigning the southbound entrance ramp from Nakoma. The ramp will close three weeks for this work, starting the end of this month, pushing all traffic from Interpark or Nakoma to the northbound frontage road (going through the Nakoma intersection to turn around), then making a turnaround at Bitters to reach an available on-ramp. Here's the detour, once again (from Interpark):
- turn left at Nakoma Dr
- turn left at NBFR of U.S. 281
- continue to Bitters Rd
- turn around at Bitters Rd
- enter northbound main lanes
From Nakoma:
- drive straight through intersection at U.S. 281
- turn left at NBFR of U.S. 281
- continue to Bitters Rd
- turn around at Bitters Rd
- enter northbound main lanes
If you've got a better way to make that happen, by all means go for it. When thinking of detour routes, creativity goes a long way.
As for the U.S. 281 overpass ... the overnight work was a success, and bridge builders are planning the next stage of work. They have to wait for the concrete manufacturer to have the bridge deck panels made to set them on the beams to form the body of the bridge deck. Those should start arriving in the upcoming week or so, and panels could start getting set as soon as later this month.
Setting beams will require total closures of the main lanes, but those closures will be overnight and only impact one direction of traffic each night. Between setting beams and pouring the bridge deck, this work may require 6-10 nights to do over the month of August.
Project supervisors are mulling an option to hammer out the work over the course of a single weekend in August, requiring around-the-clock closures. Those would only impact one direction of traffic at a time.
Before that can happen, though, bridge builders will need to set bridge support beams over the southbound frontage road. That work, requiring total closure of the frontage road, will happen before the end of the month.