KINGSTON — Motorists battling their way through the construction on Miller Bay Road could face even longer waits beginning this week. Due to paving at the road’s intersections with Indianola and Gunderson roads, delays could reach 30 to 40 minutes or more depending on the work.

“We’ve done all sorts of notification in publications and handouts,” said Public Works construction manager Jacques Dean. Signs and message boards were also set up on Monday, and they were already making a difference. “Things have been improving in the last month and a half or so, but now we’re going to go back to the long waits.”

The shoulders at Indianola and Gunderson roads are being graded in preparation for paving. Base paving began Tuesday. The work requires dump truck and trailer rigs to haul asphalt to the project areas, and because there is only one lane open, truck drivers must use that lane to unload their trailers, thus halting traffic in both directions, Dean said. This portion of the road construction is expected to last until Sept. 27-28, and work starts at 7 a.m. every day, running until 7 p.m. or later. In an attempt to keep commuters’ travels as unhindered as possible, crews will try to restrict the longer delays to the middle of the day.

“We had a meeting this morning,” Dean said Monday. “We have to pave the intersections, but we are going to try and wait until after peak times. But we do have to get it done… It’s a tough site because there aren’t too many alternate routes.”

There were other methods of paving he and designers examined before making their selection, and he said they all would have caused major delays.

Area residents and visitors are strongly encouraged to take alternate routes to avoid the backups, Dean said.