Beginning Monday, sealing work will squeeze traffic into a single lane crossing the Kansas River north of Eudora.

The four-week project will be expected to add about three minutes to each trip for the 2,500 or so drivers who cross the river each day on Douglas County Road 1061 and Leavenworth County Road 1, which meet in the middle of the bridge.

“It shouldn’t be a huge inconvenience,” said Keith Browning, Douglas County engineer and director of public works.

Crews from Topeka-based Wildcat Construction are set to be paid $197,403 for applying a thin layer of polymer to seal the surface of the 1,360-foot-long bridge. The existing deck was installed in the 1990s and remains in good shape today, Browning said.

The goal is to keep it that way.

Browning noted that a new interchange is expected to open this fall at County Road 1 on the Kansas Turnpike, potentially sending another 1,000 vehicles per day across the river on the way toward Eudora.

“We wanted to take this opportunity, before the traffic got any heavier, to seal the deck up to be sure it lasts longer,” Browning said.

Temporary signals will control traffic crossing the bridge. Work is scheduled to start Monday morning, with the bridge to be back open to two-way traffic Aug. 14.