Throughout the month of April, roads will close around the City of Oxford due to various construction and roadwork projects. The Oxford Board of Aldermen approved requests on Tuesday for three different roads to close at different times during the month, beginning this weekend.

Residents who live around Avent Park and off of Park Drive will have to navigate around the installation of a storm drainpipe on Saturday beginning at 6:30 a.m. M&N Construction made the request to close off the road between Williams Drive and Thomas Drivewhile they complete construction of the pipe. The Board approved their request with stipulations that a flagger or workman is required to be on site to direct residents to their homes. Additionally, a crew must place flyers to residents of Park Drive, Zilla Avent Drive and Thomas Drive at each residence and not in their mailboxes.  sign on Highway 30 will notify the public of Park Drive’s closing to thru traffic.

The Board also required once work begins it must continue in an efficient manner to ensure the road closure will last the shortest amount of time possible. Workers cannot abandon the site once work begins. They also approved a secondary date of April 13 in the event of rain.

Frontage Road off South Lamar will close April 13-14 to allow for installation of a sewer line for LaQuinta Inn & Suites. The construction company has attempted to install the sewer line four previous times without closing the road but have not been successful. The construction crew fears damaging the integrity of the road if they attempt a fifth time without completely shutting down the road.

The Board also approved this request with stipulations. To ensure the project is finished in a timely manner, work must continue on a 24-hour basis. Residents of Cambridge Station, Provence Park and University Inn on Frontage Road must be notified of the road closure.

Before the project begins, the city is requiring a one-year warranty bond and seeks approval by the city engineering department based on costs of materials and procedures involved in the project. If work cannot be completed on the approved dates, the Oxford Police Department and city engineers have granted authority to approve an alternate date.

A final road closure will take place on Tyler Avenue, adjacent to the Downtown Square. The timeline aligns closely with the Double Decker Arts Festival, but the road should reopen in time to avoid interference with the festival. Tyler Avenue will close from April 15-23 to allow the completion of work on a new building in a safe manner. BCS, Inc. requested to close the road in order to finish laying brick on the building located at 1200 Harrison.

Over 100 bricks have fallen off the structure, and work has stopped due to unsafe conditions for pedestrians walking to and from the Square. Throughout the duration of the road closure, work will begin at 6 a.m. and conclude at 8 p.m., including Sundays. The Board authorized work to take place on April 24 if necessary, but only for a short period of time.