Construction crews will begin drilling this week to inspect the concrete base beneath Lancaster Avenue for stability before starting to repave the road.

City Engineer Matt Lambert said the repaving will stop at the Reynoldsburg city limit just south of Broad Street.

"We expect to have all the repaving done on Lancaster Avenue by early October, although there will be some cleanup work after that," he said.

The city bid out the project and awarded the bid to Columbus Asphalt for approximately $1,032,000, Lambert said.

He said there will be intermittent lane closings on Lancaster Avenue during the paving project, but crews will be working only during regular daytime hours.

Lancaster Avenue was closed for an extended time Aug. 28 after Columbus Asphalt workers hit and ruptured a natural gas line at the intersection with East Main Street. Lambert said that occurred around 1 p.m.

"The rupture was just south of the bridge near East Main and Lancaster Avenue," he said.

The city closed Lancaster Avenue at French Street and redirected traffic away from the intersection until about 10 p.m. that evening, when Columbia Gas completed the repair of the rupture, he said.

Lancaster Avenue is the only street in Reynoldsburg to receive major improvements this summer.

Reynoldsburg City Council approved appropriating money for the project from the city's capital improvement fund in February.