Drivers in downtown Lafayette need to find alternate routes as construction rolls out on the Main Street streetscape project.
Lafayette Economic Development Director Dennis Carson says work is already underway on upper Main, between Tenth and Eleventh streets.
This week, crews will start work on Main near Fourth, then move progress east toward Eighth Street.
Shoppers and downtown employees will see parking spots temporarily disappear as crews rip up sidewalks and mill down the road, then install wider walks, as well as new asphalt, lighting, benches, planters and bike racks.
Carson says every business will be accessible throughout construction.
“As things progress, there will be some parking that will have to be blocked off during the construction areas,” he says.
“But there will be plenty of parking on the side streets and in other areas.”
To keep customers and business owners informed while everything is torn up, the city will update a webpage dedicated to the project.
“We know that it can be disruptive so we wanted to put something together that can help them through this process and also educate the public,” he says.
On Wednesday, the city and downtown business owners are slated to unveil a marketing campaign to keep customers informed of traffic changes.
Carson says the end product will be similar to the upgrades on Second Street between Main and Columbia.
Work is scheduled for completion in December.
The five million dollar project is funded through Tax Increment Financing revenues.
