A sidewalk project in lower Gloucester is on track to be advertised later this month, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokesperson Kelly Hannon.

“By the time the bids are received and opened, and a contractor is selected and issued notice to proceed, it will either be very late 2017 or early 2018 when residents will begin to observe work underway,” Hannon said Friday. Construction will be completed in 2018, she added.

Once the bids are opened and the project has been awarded to a contractor, VDOT will “know more about the project’s precise construction schedule and likely traffic impacts,” she said.

Pedestrian improvements are planned on Route 216 (Guinea Road), Route 1216 (Hayes Road) and Route 1219 (Hook Road). Those strips of sidewalk will total slightly over one mile. The sidewalk will include about 0.13 mile on Route 216, 0.12 mile along Route 1219 and 1.19 mile along Route 1216 (to its southern intersection with Bellehaven Drive...