For drivers fed up with all the LRT-related construction causing road closures and detours in uptown Waterloo over the past two years, here’s the good news: That construction is just about finished.

Now here’s the bad news: Another project is moving in to take its place.

That would be what the city is calling its ‘uptown streetscape improvement’ plan.

By the time all is said and done, the $10.7-million project will bring the uptown new underground infrastructure, more lighting, curb-separated bike lanes, wider sidewalks and 59 new trees. Its current four lanes of through traffic will be cut down to two, with a turning lane added.

King Street closed this week between Erb Street and Bridgeport Road. That closure is expected to last until late July, at which point Erb will close between Caroline Street and King.

Later in the year, King will close from south of Erb to the Waterloo Public Square, followed by King between Bridgeport and Central Street.

In 2019, crews will move north, working as far from the uptown as University Avenue.

It’s a lot of roadwork for any area, but particularly so for uptown Waterloo, where Caroline was closed for most of 2015 and a different stretch of King for most of 2016.

Despite that, business owners seem understanding – or, in the case of Loop Clothing owner Alnoor Keshvani, enthusiastic.

“I’m actually really excited,” Keshvani said Wednesday.

“The city’s not getting any smaller, with the way housing prices are going. We need this infrastructure now.”

Teresa Huegle, who owns the restaurant Angie’s, says she wishes the work had started a little earlier this year.

“For patio season, it’s ruined it for everybody in town,” she said.

Huegle said she understands why the work is being done, and just hopes the project is completed on-time.

City officials say they have learned lessons from the LRT construction, and are looking to apply them to this project.

“A big road closure, while it might be better for the construction workers, is not very good for our uptown businesses … so we’re going to be phasing it in,” Coun. Melissa Durrell said in an interview.

Those lessons also include the discovery of a corduroy road under King Street, which held up construction for several weeks last year.

If that happens this time, Durrell said, a process is in place to ensure a less lengthy delay.

With reporting by Abigail Bimman