Construction on the Commerce Drive cycle track – a project to bring more bicycle lanes to downtown Decatur – will begin next week on Monday, April 22, according to a news update from the city of Decatur.

With the project approved in February, the city partnered with the PATH Foundation to build the cycle track, also known as protected bicycle lanes, on Commerce Drive between Clairemont Avenue and West Trinity Place and on West Trinity Place from Commerce Drive to North McDonough Street, where it will connect with the recently completed North McDonough cycle track.

On Commerce Drive, the new plan includes four vehicle lanes between Clairemont and West Ponce de Leon Avenue, with three lanes between West Ponce and West Trinity Place. West Trinity will have four vehicle lanes.

Construction will start at Clairemont Avenue and move south towards West Trinity Place, the city said. The initial work will include re-striping the street to reflect the new cycle track pavement marking plan and will provide work zones on both sides of Commerce and Trinity so that the contractor can safely perform the job.

More details about the project can be found here.

Construction will take up to one year. Lewallen Construction of Marietta, who has built similar projects in downtown Atlanta and at Georgia Tech, is the general contractor, the city said.

Efforts will be taken to minimize impacts, but residents should keep in mind that noise, mess, and inconvenience are likely side effects to be expected at various points during the process.