The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) alerts commuters that, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning (Aug.16-17), traffic will be shifted off the temporary Fore River Bridge and onto the new replacement bridge that is in the final stages of construction.

This milestone will mark the end of service for the temporary bridge and will allow crews and contractors to continue demolition operations while also moving forward with the construction of the new bridge.

There will continue to be one lane of travel in each direction. Project coordinators anticipate that there will be two lanes in each direction by Oct. 1.

“Beginning on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 17th, drivers will have a different experience if they travel across the Fore River Bridge as they will be driving across the new replacement bridge that has been built by our crews and contractors,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “We are pleased to reach this important point in our process of replacing the existing bridge and we thank the local communities, civic leaders, and residents and commuters for their understanding and patience and their efforts to make informed travel decisions while our operations are ongoing.”

On Friday, June 2, MassDOT crews and contractors put in place logistics for one lane of travel in each direction. This has allowed crews to conduct operations to remove half of the existing temporary bridge from service to allow for the completion of the new approach spans.

By Oct. 1, there will be two lanes of travel in each direction on the new Fore River Bridge as crews continue construction operations and work towards achieving full beneficial use of the bridge by the spring of 2018.

The Fore River Bridge Replacement is one of the Commonwealth’s projects in the $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program, a program with the goal of restoring, repairing or replacing structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts. The Fore River Bridge project includes the installation of a new bridge, which occurred last year, and the eventual removal of the existing temporary span.

For more information on traffic conditions travelers are also encouraged to:

• Dial 511 before heading out onto the roadways and select a route to hear real-time conditions.

• Visit www.mass511.com, a website which provides real-time traffic and incident advisory information, access to traffic cameras, and allows users to subscribe to text and email alerts for traffic conditions.

• Follow MassDOT on Twitter @MassDOT to receive regular updates on road and traffic conditions

• Download MassDOT’s GoTime mobile app and view real-time traffic conditions before setting out on the road.

All scheduled work is weather dependent and subject to change without notice.