The Burlington Street bridge is on schedule to reopen with a week to spare before the beginning of University of Iowa classes.

The $652,595 project, which began May 17, has inconvenienced thousands of motorists this summer.

But when the work is finished about Aug. 16, a new, wider bridge will make motorists and pedestrians safer, officials say.

"Most people won't notice it, but they will feel safer," said Ross Spitz, a civil engineer for the city who is heading the project. "It will help reduce rear-end collisions."

Motorists heading east or west will be able to merge into a left turn lane at Van Buren Street - a cross-road east of Gilbert Street - making the thoroughfare 12 feet wider. Pedestrians will enjoy sidewalks widened to 8 feet on both sides of the street.

About 17,500 motorists travel east and west on Burlington Street in an average day, and officials recorded 41 crashes in the area of the bridge from 1998 to 2002.

Crews have finished constructing the bridge structure, including much of the surface, concrete laying and storm sewer installation, Spitz said Tuesday. They now are widening the street .

"We think we can still pull that off barring any errors," Spitz said. "The whole reason we did this was because the bridge was in dire need of reconstruction. It could have collapsed at some point."

Although crews were concerned about possible contamination from an old gas plant, Spitz said they have not discovered a significant amount of hazardous material. The only delays came when workers found abandoned pipes and portions of the old street.

Bob Moore, a UI junior who lives on south Johnson Street, said he is eager for the project's completion.

"I usually walk my dog down Van Buren Street, so this is in the way," he said, adding that he has developed detours to exercise his pet and get downtown. "But I hope they get it done before school starts. That will cause a lot of traffic problems."