Motorists should be aware that the east side of Main Street will not be accessible to any traffic on Thursday as part of a $5.9 million project to reconstruct North Main Street in Sandwich.

Beginning Thursday, the process of stabilizing the roadway base will begin.

“This critical step that must be completed before laying the asphalt pavement,” Sandwich City Administrator Geoff Penman said in a news release. “This process involves mixing cement into the existing base material, shaping it and then tilling/mixing it and compacting it. Since this process involves the use of cement and water, once the road base is rolled, it needs to harden before it can be driven on.”

The west side of Main Street will remain open going north to maintain access to Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital in Sandwich.

Affected residents are being asked to use adjacent side streets for vehicle parking during this process and for at least 24 – 48 hours after it is installed.

The east side of Main Street will be completed on Thursday and the west side will be completed on Oct. 27. The project involves the reconstruction of North Main Street from the north railroad right-of-way to Knights Road near Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital.