NITRO, W.Va. -- Starting next month, motorists used to taking 40th Street to travel between Nitro and Cross Lanes will have to find another route.

State highways officials say the 40th Street Bridge will be shut down for about three months while the span is replaced.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Walker said highways officials have not yet set the exact dates for construction. But Walker said the bridge will close early in June and reopen sometime in late August.

"It's got to be done while school is out," Walker said. School buses rely on the route for transporting students.

Walker said construction on the $988,000 project is timed so the bridge will be finished before school starts again in the fall.

Hoke Brothers Contracting, from Union, faces a $2,000-a-day penalty if the bridge does not reopen on time, Walker said.

Contractors are replacing the old 70-foot long bridge with a new span of 110 feet. The new bridge will be assembled from prefabricated parts, Walker said.

While the bridge is closed, drivers will have to detour on W.Va. 25 and W.Va. 62, which meet north of Nitro and Cross Lanes.

"It's only a few miles farther," Walker said.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.

NITRO, W.Va. -- Starting next month, motorists used to taking 40th Street to travel between Nitro and Cross Lanes will have to find another route.

State highways officials say the 40th Street Bridge will be shut down for about three months while the span is replaced.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Walker said highways officials have not yet set the exact dates for construction. But Walker said the bridge will close early in June and reopen sometime in late August.

"It's got to be done while school is out," Walker said. School buses rely on the route for transporting students.

Walker said construction on the $988,000 project is timed so the bridge will be finished before school starts again in the fall.

Hoke Brothers Contracting, from Union, faces a $2,000-a-day penalty if the bridge does not reopen on time, Walker said.

Contractors are replacing the old 70-foot long bridge with a new span of 110 feet. The new bridge will be assembled from prefabricated parts, Walker said.

While the bridge is closed, drivers will have to detour on W.Va. 25 and W.Va. 62, which meet north of Nitro and Cross Lanes.

"It's only a few miles farther," Walker said.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.