Belfast River Road will be temporarily detoured to thru traffic at the intersection of Harris Trail Road, and on Harris Trail Road at the intersection of Port Royal Road. Due to recent inclement weather, the road closures were postponed and are now scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8 and end at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10.

The temporarily detoured routes are necessary in order for crews to begin placing the Harris Trail/Belfast River roundabout into its final configuration, officials said. However, at no time will any residents be cut off from their homes, nor will emergency services access be unavailable to those within the detoured areas. Bryan County said its first priority is the safety of its residents, which is why this closure is being carefully planned in advance, as to cause minimal disruptions.

Although the county currently intends to forge ahead with the roundabout work, the plans are heavily contingent on the weather and may be changed with short notice if mandated by conditions.

During the road closure, construction activities will allow for access for all Dunham Marsh traffic and the passing of emergency vehicles, however the traveling public may encounter – and should anticipate – minor delays during this time. On Friday, Nov. 8, construction activities will begin on Dunham Marsh Trail first, working one lane at a time and tying into each approach road. Traffic to and from Dunham Marsh will be allowed to use Belfast River to exit either toward SR144 or Belfast Keller Road throughout operations, with no access provided either to or from Harris Trail Road. Flaggers will be posted on both sides of Belfast River and Dunham Marsh.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, construction will continue on both Belfast River Road approaches. Traffic entering Dunham Marsh will continue to use Belfast River Road (in either direction) and will be allowed to exit/enter the neighborhood via flagging operations.

On Sunday, Nov. 10, construction will be completed on Harris Trail Road. The center island will be demarked with traffic barrels and temporary striping will be placed and all traffic signs will be put into service.

For traffic control and night operations, the contractor will have flagging operations on Dunham Marsh Trail and on both sides of Belfast River Road to direct local traffic in and out of Dunham Marsh. Multiple light carts will be on site to ensure visibility of flagging operators, and intersection and travel lanes will be lined with channelizing traffic panels. Message boards were placed at the detour locations on Harris Trail Road at Port Royal Road, Belfast River Road at SR 144 and Belfast Keller Road at Belfast River Road and will be repositioned immediately before final configuration of the roundabout to warn traffic of the new roundabout configuration.

Road detours:

- Detour signs will be posted near the intersection of Harris Trail Road and Port Royal Road with accompanying message boards. Detoured traffic will be directed to use Port Royal Road to SR 144 and then toward the roundabout at the intersection of Belfast River Road. Detour signs will be posted near the SR144 roundabout allowing access for local traffic only from the roundabout up to Dunham Marsh Trail. All other traffic will be directed through the SR144 roundabout and towards the intersection of Belfast Keller Road.

- Detour signs and a message board will be posted near the intersection of Belfast River Road and Belfast Keller Road allowing only local traffic through for access on Belfast River Road up to Dunham Marsh Trail. All other traffic will be directed past the Belfast River Road intersection along Belfast Keller Road to the intersection of SR 144.

Please note the above operations are subject to change due to circumstances beyond the contractor’s control.