Drivers should expect delays on I-490

The I-490 project will get underway with new changes Monday morning.

“It's going to be a bit of a headache, but it needs it,” said Dave Desiato of Gates.

“Depending on where you are, it's going to be a hassle,” said Steve Lee of Rochester.

Like it or hate it, construction crews will be back to work repairing the roadway on a stretch of 490 just west of Rochester.

“Before the rush hour, (drivers) won't see an awful lot but after 9 o'clock we'll start by closing the ramps from Mount Read Boulevard to 490 eastbound,” said Ken McClenathan, the project engineer.

Drivers coming from the north and south on Mount Read Boulevard will have to follow the detour signs to hop on 490. Any drivers getting on 490 eastbound from 390 southbound should also expect delays starting Tuesday. The two-lane ramp will be reduced to one.

More changes are on the horizon.

"The snow has kicked us back a week,” McClenathan said. “We really need a little bit warmer weather to get our pavement markings and our striping down.”

Eastbound and westbound 490 won’t be reduced to two lanes until next week. The Department of Transportation recommends drivers take this week to find an alternate route and consider driving Interstates 390 and 590 instead.

“It's only two miles further,” McClenathan said. “It probably won't even take you any longer, and we think that'll reduce your backup.”

A backup that some drivers think is worth the wait.

“We got to take the good with the bad,” Desiato said. “I know when it's all done it'll be well worth it.”

Others are sick of waiting for a project that started last summer.

“It's going to be tough,” Lee said. “I think it's going to be a big, big hassle."

Repairing the main line of 490 is the final phase of the Western Gateway project. It started last summer and is expected to be done by the end of 2009.

Here's a brief timeline of what you can expect in the coming days: Ramp closures at Mount Read Boulevard start Monday. The 390 southbound ramp to 490 will be reduced to one lane Tuesday. Starting March 25, eastbound lanes will be reduced to two, and the two lanes heading west will cross over into the eastbound lane starting March 28.