Motorists near 23rd and Massachusetts streets should expect delays for a portion of Thursday morning.

At 9 a.m. Thursday, city crews will begin replacing an outdated cabinet that controls the traffic signal at the intersection. The work will disable the traffic signal for about two hours.

Members of the Lawrence Police Department will be on scene to direct traffic during the time that the traffic signal is out of service.

David Woosley, the city’s traffic engineer, said the cabinet is being replaced because the current cabinet won’t allow the city to take full advantage of a new intelligent transportation system, which is being installed along 23rd Street.

The new cabinet, Woosley said, will give the city more options in setting timing patterns for the traffic signals.