Kent State commuters from the north could face backups today along state Route 43 because of Crain Avenue bridge repavement.

Signal adjustments and continued construction slowed traffic last week near the Crain Avenue intersection and this week may not be any better.

The Crain Avenue Bridge will be closed Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for pavement repairs. There will also be intermittent closures Thursday through Monday for cars, but pedestrian traffic will continue.

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The Kent Department of Public Service issued a statement before Labor Day weekend urging motorists to take alternate routes during the course of the next week.

The Kent city superintendent of engineering, Jim Bowling, said the primary goal with the traffic on Route 43 is to aim for a smooth movement through the area to maintain Kent’s emergency response system.

“I anticipate what most people are going to be doing is finding their best way that will be the quickest for them,” he said. “And we actually encourage that.”

Bowling also said he encourages commuters to check updates online and on the radio.

“The most frustrating thing is not that you may have to go through the detour, but that you think you didn’t have to and you hit the construction and you weren’t planning on it and now you’re late,” he said. “That’s bothersome.”

Ward 1 Councilman Garret Ferrara said delays in that area are a temporary inconvenience.

Until construction is complete, Ferrara suggested leaving home five minutes early.

“If you know it is going to take an hour and ten minutes to go to work, you better leave an hour and 15 minutes early,” he said. “What else can you do?”

Contact Tony Lange at [email protected].