Construction on County Road 45 through Austin is underway, and a section of the road from north of Interstate 90 to 19th Avenue Northwest will be closed for about four weeks.

A portion of County Road 45 — or Fourth Street Northwest — will be closed as crews start the first phase of resurfacing the busy street all the way to Highway 218. A one way access road for northbound traffic has been installed for people to reach the road alongside the Holiday Inn.

“So far, we’re going pretty smoothly,” said County Engineer Mike Hanson.

Hanson said the county opted to close the section of road now rather than closing it in chunks to avoid further delays and confusion later.

“Be patient — we’ll be out of the way in three to four weeks,” Hanson said .

Once the second phase of the project starts in about four weeks, County Road 25 will re-open as construction work shifts to a stretch from 19th Avenue to 23rd Avenue. In the second phase, Hanson said the road will remain open to two-lane traffic as crews first work on the east side of the road and later switch to the west.

There are no detours set up for the project, but drivers are recommended to avoid the construction area when possible.

The project is slated to be completed this fall, except for a final layer of blacktop that will go down next spring. The road will be fully marked for the winter.

Businesses

So far, the project has not hurt Fourth Street businesses in the project area. Paul Worlein, director of Worlein Funeral Home, said his business has not been affected, and they had adequate time to prepare for the project.

“It’s not been a problem to this point,” he said. “People are able to reach us at this point.”

People can still access the funeral home through the access road near the Holiday Inn, and from 17th Street Northwest.

Worlein said they can still reach Oakwood Cemetery through the south entrance, but getting there is a bit of an inconvenience at this point.

Currently, funeral processions need to travel all the way around the mall to reach the entrance, which is just a few feet away, because the temporary access road is a one way. However, Worlein said he may contact the Austin Police Department to see if the road could be temporarily blocked for a funeral procession to reach the cemetery.

Worlein said the business will likely be a bigger concern to businesses like Super Fresh Produce & Garden when the project’s second phase begins.

Hanson noted all the businesses on Fourth Street are open and can be reached from Highway 218.