PROJECT MOVING, NOT TRAFFIC

FORT DRUM — Inbound traffic to the post will be impeded through the summer as construction on the post access gate continues and construction for the Fort Drum connector road begins.

Rush-hour traffic on Iraqi Freedom Drive extends out to Route 11, post spokeswoman Julie A. Cupernall said in an e-mail. Both projects were delayed several months, but, she said, wait times average less than five minutes.

Access gate construction projects at Iraqi Freedom Drive and Nash Boulevard are expected to be completed in May and June, respectively, she said.

Separate projects to install an additional inbound lane at both the Gasoline Alley gate on Route 26 and Iraqi Freedom Drive are expected to be finished this summer, she said.

Upgrades to the Mount Belvedere Boulevard and Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield gates will begin this summer and are expected to be finished before winter.

Also affecting Route 11 traffic in the coming weeks will be construction of the Fort Drum connector road, officially known as Interstate 781.

The most significant impediments are expected at the end of April, said Michael R. Flick, Region 7 spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. They will occur on Route 11 near the Iraqi Freedom Drive gate. The four main lanes will be reduced to three lanes during the expected two months of construction.

"If we get a heavy rain, it slows down production here and it extends timelines," he said.

Smaller disturbances will occur before major construction.

Safety crews are scheduled later this month to prepare the area for construction, Mr. Flick said. The area will become more active in early April.

In mid-April, crews will be working on large pipes just north of the KFC restaurant near Anabel Avenue.

"Folks may encounter a work zone and encounter flaggers," he said, adding that motorists may lose a lane occasionally.