ITD will suspend highway construction projects statewide to enhance safe, uninterrupted travel during the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend. Some construction activity may continue if it takes place outside of travel lanes and does not affect traffic. In most cases, work will resume either Monday night or Tuesday (May 30 or 31).

ITD requires contractors on highway construction projects to discontinue work on any roadway open to the traveling public during the holiday, except for normal maintenance operations. This includes any day of a three-day holiday weekend or July 3-5, unless otherwise permitted. In most cases, this means work will be suspended during that time period.

Some of those rare conditions in which work may continue are:

• If crews are not working on roadway open to the public;
• If the road is already closed and all traffic is using a designated detour;
  
• In an emergency situation (like flooding) where the roadway has been damaged and requires repair; or
• On roads with very low traffic volumes.

"Contractors, like most of us, have very little interest in working over the holiday," said ITD Chief Engineer Tom Cole. "Most would probably take these days off, even if they were not already required to keep the road open."

Published 5-27-2011