NEW BEDFORD - If you live or work in the South End of New Bedford, you may run into even more traffic headaches beginning this week.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in addition to many other projects in the city, has been carrying out the reconstruction of Route 18 from Cove Street to Griffin Court.

Now MassDOT says a section of Route 18 between Cove Street and Potomska Street will be temporarily closed in the overnight hours between Monday, April 9, and Thursday, April 12.

MassDOT says the closures are necessary for the demolition of the pedestrian overpass, which spans from South Front Street to South Water Street. MassDOT workers, during those times, will also be performing roadway reconstruction and related work for the JFK Highway (Rt. 18) Phase 2 Project.

Route 18 northbound and South Front Street will be closed on Monday, April 9, at 6:00 p.m., and will re-open as soon as work is completed which is anticipated to occur sometime around midnight. When the work on the Route 18 northbound roadway is completed, the Route 18 southbound roadway will then be closed to perform demolition work. Both the northbound and southbound Route 18 roadway will be open to traffic by 5:00 a.m., on Tuesday, April 10.

Subsequent overnight closures and detours may be necessary on Tuesday, April 10, and Wednesday, April 11, to complete the demolition work. All roadways will be open and fully accessible for travel each day by 5:00 a.m.

Additional overnight detours may also be necessary for South Front Street only beginning on Monday, April 16, through Wednesday, April 18.

Detour signs will be in place and there will be assistance from police details.

Detours on Route 18 (JFK Highway) will be in place as follows:

Northbound Detour

For traffic traveling northbound on West Rodney French Blvd. (Route 18):

  • Turn left onto Cove St.
  • Turn right onto County St.
  • Turn right onto Thompson St.
  • Turn left onto Purchase St.
  • Turn right onto Potomska St.
  • Turn left onto JFK Highway (Route 18 northbound)

Southbound Detour

For traffic traveling southbound on JFK Highway (Route 18):

  • Turn right onto Potomska St.
  • Turn left onto Acushnet Ave.
  • Turn left onto Division St.
  • Turn right onto South First St.
  • Turn left onto Cove St.
  • Turn and right onto West Rodney French Blvd. (Route 18 southbound)

Detour signs will be in place during the duration of the road closure.

Drivers who are traveling through the affected areas should expect delays, reduce speed, and use caution.

All scheduled work is weather dependent and/or may be impacted due to an emergency situation.

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