Early work starts Monday for upgrading a 1.2-mile stretch of one of the busiest streets in Lawrence.

Crews are scheduled to start working Monday morning on sidewalks, curbs and a median at the intersection of 23rd and Louisiana streets — the first phase of a project to repave 23rd from Ousdahl Road to Barker Avenue.

The entire $556,399 project will be expected to last into early October, with hopes for having smooth pavement in place, lane markings down and traffic flowing easily once again by the time fans start arriving for Kansas University’s Big 12 football opener, Oct. 10, against Iowa State.

“If we have good weather like we’ve been having, and it’s not raining everyday, they’ll be done Oct. 9 at that absolute latest,” said Dave Cronin, a project manager for the city’s Department of Public Works.

Next week’s work will be focused at the intersection of 23rd and Louisiana, which handles about 47,000 vehicles on a typical day. Crews will be working out of the traffic lanes except when cutting through the median that crosses 23rd, between the corners occupied by Checkers and Walgreens stores, to accommodate a relocated crosswalk.

Work on the road’s surface should start Oct. 5, Cronin said, with crews stripping off the top two inches of pavement during the day. Then, later in the week, crews plan to work overnight to put down new asphalt pavement and lane markings during periods of relatively sparse traffic.

Disruptions should be minimal for the 30,000 or so vehicles that move along the stretch of 23rd each day, he said.

“There will always be a lane open in each direction,” Cronin said. “Traffic will always be able to have at least one lane to get through.”