It is going to get easier to drive to Lawrence Memorial Hospital – eventually – LMH leaders say. But first, it is going to get tougher.

Work to expand two intersections leading to the LMH campus at Third and Maine streets is set to begin Thursday, and it is expected to affect traffic in the area for about 12 weeks.

Crews will begin working on the intersections of Fourth and Maine streets and Fourth and Michigan streets, and will close Fourth Street between Maine and Michigan streets.

“I think these improvements, once they’re done, will make life easier for people coming to the hospital,” said Skanda Skandaverl, LMH director of facilities management and construction.

The work includes adding six to nine feet to the approaches of each intersection to allow for an additional lane of traffic. The additional lane, Skandaverl said, should cut down on the number of vehicles that get delayed waiting for a motorist to make a left turn.

The construction work, though, will cause crews to limit each intersection to one-way traffic. The Fourth and Maine intersection will be open only for northbound traffic. The Fourth and Michigan intersection will be open only for southbound traffic.

That means motorists wanting to park in any of the visitor lots on the west side of the hospital likely will need to use Fifth Street to connect with Arkansas Street, which leads to the parking areas.

Both the intersections, though, will be kept open enough to ensure ambulances and motorists are able to access the hospital’s emergency room.

“The police and fire departments have been involved in the planning,” said Chuck Soules, the city’s director of public works. “If there is an emergency, they’ll get through. They won’t be shut out of the hospital.”

The hospital is paying $280,000 to complete the intersection improvements as part of its $45 million expansion of the hospital. The city is using the work as an opportunity to repave the section of Fourth Street between Michigan and Maine streets. Soules also said the city will add a sidewalk on the south side of the street.

Soules said residents near the intersection would notice changes. He said the project won’t require the purchasing of any additional right-of-way, but the street will be three to four feet closer to several homes in the area.

He said the city and LMH already have begun to work with residents who will lose some landscaping that had been planted in the right-of-way. He said two or three “smaller” trees in the area may have to be removed to accommodate the new sidewalks.