State Route 73 winds through the Cascade lakes between Lake Placid and Keene. (Provided photo — ROOST)

LAKE PLACID — Work is underway on an $8.3 million project to replace concrete barriers and guard rails along three parts of state Route 73 in Keene and North Elba, state Department of Transportation officials announced Tuesday.

Crews will replace old concrete barriers and guard rails along Route 73 with new “see-through railings” that would allow for better scenic views while maintaining public safety, DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said in a statement. DOT Public Information Officer Bryan Viggiani said the project is 20% state funded and 80% federally funded.

The work is planned for an area near Bullet Pond, about 2.2 miles north of the intersection with U.S. Route 9; between Chapel Pond and Ausable Road; and along Upper and Lower Cascade lakes. The stretch along the Cascade lakes is part of the annual Ironman Lake Placid triathlon bike course. Work is expected to wrap up by late fall.

Site preparations are underway at all three locations, and flaggers are posted at either end of the sites to control alternating flows of traffic. Prep work is expected to continue through the end of April, according to a news release. Temporary traffic signals will be installed at the sites, and traffic will be reduced to a single alternating lane.

Work is expected to pause along the Cascade lakes during the Ironman race in July. No other exceptions have yet been made to the flow of construction.

The concrete barriers there now were installed in the early 2000s to replace masonry roadside barriers, according to the DOT, but the surface underneath the barriers has deteriorated.

The parts of Route 73 that will get new guard rails will also be completely repaved from shoulder to shoulder.

Road shoulders are also expected to be widened to a uniform 4 feet on both sides of Route 73 along the Upper and Lower Cascade lakes, a stretch that’s often used by cyclists. Viggiani said that shoulder widths in that stretch are inconsistent right now.

The Cascade lakes area is also popular with hikers visiting the High Peaks each year. Keene town Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson Jr. said in a statement that he thought the widened shoulders would create a safer place for recreation on the roadway.

“The growing pains this summer are well worth it for the wider lanes, which will provide room for bicycles and other recreation traffic along the busy highway,” Wilson said.

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