GUILDERLAND — Eastbound drivers looking to use exit 9B of I-890 after Memorial Day weekend will be out of luck as the New York State Department of Transportation announced it will close the exit as part of its roundabout work for Carman Road and Lydius Street.

Carman Road between Wayto Road, home to Dunkin’ Donuts, and Marra Lane, the location of a number of apartment complexes, will be closed from Friday, June 3, at 8 p.m., until Monday, June 6, at 6 a.m., as will the access road leading to the I-890/I-90 interchange, according to a release from the transportation department.

“Motorists will be directed to signed detours utilizing Fort Hunter Road and Curry Road (State Route 7) for local destinations,” the department said in its release. “For access to and from the interstates, motorists will use a signed detour utilizing Curry Road (Route 7) at I-890 Exit 9A and Highbridge Road at I-890 Exit 8.” 

Eastbound drivers that typically use I-890’s Exit 9B, are advised to use Exit 9A at Curry Road and to follow the detours to Fort Hunter Road. 

The transportation department said additional weekend closures are planned for later this year to install the roundabouts at Carman Road and Lydius Street.

When initially presented to residents, in August 2020, only the Lydius Street roundabout was included in the project, which at the time had a $3.25 million price tag. 

“When we did the public meeting, we brought this up and one of the concerns people said was, ‘We like the idea of the one by Nedco Pharmacy, but you know, where you also really need a roundabout is up by the Dunkin’ Donuts that enters where the Thruway entrance is.’ [So,] we went back and looked at it and added it,” transportation department spokesman Bryan Viggiani told The Enterprise in late April.

The abandoned Nedco Pharmacy was demolished in early April.

The project went out to bid for four weeks in September 2021 with the additional roundabout included as part of the proposal, site plans show. Rifenburg Construction of Troy came in as the lowest responsible bidder with a $5.4 million tender; the company has already expended 10 percent of that figure, according to the state comptroller.  

At past Guilderland Town Board meetings, Supervisor Peter Barber said the Lydius Street roundabout work was likely to start first, but Viggiani said the plan was always to start on Carman Road. “The sequencing made sense for the contractor and for us,” he told The Enterprise in early May.

Asked when construction of the Lydius Street roundabout would take place, Viggiani could only say later this year. However, he did say “major construction” is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, with “minor work” continuing into 2023. Contract documents show the project’s completion date as June 2023.