Adam Betz, Lawrence, left, and Grant Schenewerk, Baldwin City, both with R.D. Johnson Excavating Co., set out barricades in preparation for Ninth Street closures today and Thursday from Emery Road to Mississippi Street.

While work to overhaul Ninth Street west of downtown Lawrence is nearing an end, the $678,211 task is scheduled to stir up major traffic adjustments for at least two more days.

From 6 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. Wednesday, Ninth will be closed to all traffic from the west side of Emery Road to the west side of Mississippi Street, said Steve Lashley, project engineer for the city of Lawrence. That means all streets, alleys and entrances that intersect Ninth from the north and south in that stretch will be closed to traffic at Ninth.

Then, on Thursday, the same schedule and restrictions will apply for the stretch of Ninth that runs from the Ninth, from the west side of Mississippi to the west side of Tennessee Street, at the eastern edge of the project.

After that, crews from R.D. Johnson Excavating Co. Inc. will be expected to close short sections of lanes intermittently, so that they can adjust pavement near manhole covers and accommodate other cleanup work.

Then, remaining work likely will be limited to tasks on Avalon — and away from the 17,000 vehicles that typically travel on Ninth on any given day.

One note of caution: The paving schedule is weather dependent and could be delayed or extended if rain occurs.

Crews already have repaved Ninth from Iowa to Emery, and have installed new left-turn lanes for traffic on Ninth at Avalon Road. New curbs and gutters also have been poured along sections of Ninth, from Iowa to Tennessee.

Work began June 8, and the entire project is scheduled to be finished on or before Aug. 7.