Truth Staff

ELKHART — It’s going to get a bit more complicated to visit the medical facilities, car lots and other businesses on Lexington Avenue west of S.R. 19.

Lexington Avenue will be closed there starting Monday as part of the broader upgrade of S.R. 19 on the west side of Elkhart and remain off-limits until around mid-July, presuming weather cooperates. Lexington Avenue on the east side of S.R. 19 won’t be impacted.

The closure will allow reconstruction of the Lexington approach to S.R. 19 there and permit the upgrade of the storm water drainage system, the Indiana Department of Transportation said in a press release.

The Lexington Avenue businesses west of S.R. 19 will still be accessible. However, if coming from the east, you’ll have to take Bypass Road west off S.R. 19 and then double back to the east on Lexington Avenue where the two streets intersect.

Elkhart Clinic on the southwest corner of the intersection can be accessed off S.R. 19, though INDOT recommends entering the facility via the Lexington Avenue entrance.

The S.R. 19 project calls for the addition of a center turn lane to the roadway between Lusher Avenue and Bypass Road along with numerous other upgrades in the section. The $14.84 million project recently started and is expected to be finished in 2014.