Relief is on the way for Buford Dam Road travelers who have been using a detour the past few months.

The stretch of the well-traveled corridor that has been closed between Market Place Boulevard and Sanders Road likely will reopen on or before June 4.

Since early March, construction crews with C.W. Matthews have been working to replace a culvert near Market Place.

Jimmy Vaughan of Moreland Altobelli, an engineering firm that works with Cumming, told the mayor and city council Tuesday night the project is “still a little behind,” but crews are working additional hours in order to start laying pavement by May 31.

“Hopefully by [June 4] we’ll have the ... pavement in place,” Vaughan said. “We won’t have the final topping or the striping in place then, but it should be 90-plus percent complete when we open it to traffic.”

The work has forced travelers to use a detour that includes Mary Alice Park Road and Hwys. 9 and 20.

The project has been slowed somewhat by the weather, including heavy rain last month that caused damage to a dam and breached a silt fence at the site.

“There’s a large amount of manpower on this project,” Vaughan said. “Crews are working six days a week now to catch back up on the schedule.”

The closure is part of a larger project that includes widening parts of Buford Dam Road to up to four lanes and installing sidewalks on both sides from Sanders to Hwy. 9.

Construction work from Market Place to Hwy. 9 is ongoing, but without any closures.

The total project is expected to last through the end of September.

The estimated cost is about $3.8 million, with about $1.8 million of that coming from the state.