The first portion of the Aboite Center Road improvement project between Coventry Lane and Dicke Road should be finished by the middle of next week.

The Allen County Highway Department today said the Coventry to Dicke stretch of Aboite Center should be open to traffic by Wednesday, August 18 at 5 p.m.  That includes the intersection of Aboite Center and Coventry, which has been closed since late July.  Crews will still be doing some finishing work on that section, but it should not impede traffic.

Once the first section is done, crews will begin working on the portion of Aboite Center from Dicke to West Jefferson Boulevard.  The entire project is scheduled to be finished by mid-October.

As with all highway projects, the length of the closure could be affected by weather.

The $6.6 million project includes widening Aboite Center from two lanes to four 12-foot wide lanes with curb and gutter, adding an eight-foot wide multi-use path on the north side and a five-foot wide sidewalk along the south side of the road.