CHESAPEAKE –— As the bridge replacement project over Indian Guyan Creek will slow traffic through October, another bridge replacement will shut down a portion of State Route 243 for possibly two months.

A culvert replacement job, about a quarter of a mile on the state route from its intersection with State Route 7, is scheduled by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

“The construction should begin some time in June,” Kathleen Fuller, public information officer for ODOT, District 9, said. “They want to try to get it wrapped up while in the summer months or before school starts.”

Unlike Indian Guyan that will be one-lane with traffic signals, this project will shut down both lanes during construction.

The site is just north of Browning Road where a new culvert will be put in as well as additional improvements.

“There is a safety component to the project with reconstruction work being done,” Fuller said. “The route is super-elevated and they will improve that by adding some graded shoulders and installing guard rails. They will grade it down. There will be a little more work, fixing the pavement and the shoulders and try to improve the super-elevation.”

On each shoulder three more feet will be added.

Because of the narrowness of the roadway, traffic cannot be detoured onto the shoulder for a one-lane traffic flow.

The assigned state route detour will be State Route 7 to State Route 775 to State Route 217 to State Route 378 and back to State Route 243.

“We have to, with some of the projects, route them to state routes,” Fuller said. “We don’t route heavy trucks off the state system.”

However the unassigned route for passenger vehicles will be Eaton Road to hook into State Route 7 in Chesapeake.

Bids are expected to be advertised in late April with opening possibly on May 22.

“Assuming we award the contract within a week, the project could start in June or early July,” Fuller said.

It is scheduled to take no longer than 60 days and estimated to cost between $950,000 to $1 million.