GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Beaver Island Parkway bridge in Grand Island is closing off to traffic on Monday, and the reconstruction could take the rest of the year.

According to Governor Kathy Hochul, 8.3 Million dollars will be invested to make the bridge safer. This includes widening the lanes, improving the road surface and widening traffic lanes.

As barricades are placed, detours have been added to reroute drivers during their commute.

Grand Island Town Supervisor John Whitney thanks the Thruway Authority for their investment into the town’s infrastructure, and says the bridge has been deteriorating for quite some time.

“While it’s an inconvenience, we are happy that it is going to be replaced, because otherwise, it would have been just completely shut down and we would have been in an emergency situation. They had the forethought to do a design and a reconstruction project on it before it got to that point.” said Whitney during a phone interview.

Despite the fact that the Beaver Island Parkway bridge is a major route for Grand Island commuters, Whitney anticipates drivers quickly adjusting to the detours.

“What people are going to have problems with is when we have visitors, deliveries–things of that nature that are coming to Grand Island, so that’s going to be the problem area I see.” said Whitney. “We are just going to have to be patient and try and not to have road rage, that’s a big thing and it’s going to take some time to get used to.”