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Hillcrest Drive is officially closed south of Bartlesville High School past the Caney River now through September 19. The detour using Shawnee Avenue is also closed.

Bartlesville City Manager Mike Bailey recently spoke with Bartlesville Radio about the project and said this is for the construction of the connection of the new roadway to the existing road at the Caney River. Bailey said the great new is that the project is way ahead of schedule. He said the project was expected to go way into the next calendar year, but they expect the project to be complete by December 2021.

Last week school officials said the hope is that the new roadway can be used all the way through from the river north to BHS beginning Sept. 20. If that is not feasible, the Shawnee detour will likely be reinstated on Sept. 20.

Bailey said they always wanted to keep Hillcrest open, but they decided to close the roadway anyway. He said they either could've gone with single lane traffic for eight weeks or have it closed for three weeks. Due to safety and efficiency, Bailey said they elected to close Hillcrest for three weeks.

The Hillcrest Drive closure extends from just west of the roundabout at Silverlake Road to the old Hillcrest detour at Shawnee. Bailey said this will help speed things up with the on-going road construction.

Motorists are asked to plan ahead for traffic congestion beginning on Monday, Aug. 30 and continuing for three weeks. School officials ask that you allow extra time and plan alternate routes. Students are asked to consider riding a school bus and/or carpooling to reduce congestion.