Drivers traveling a main route to Smith Mountain Lake can expect delays for months to come because of road construction south of Hardy Ford Bridge in Franklin County.

A $3.3 million project is under way to straighten and rebuild a section of Hardy Road -- one of the four main arteries between Roanoke and the lake -- that will ultimately lead to the replacement of the 45-year-old steel truss bridge.

Construction began on a 0.7-mile section of Hardy Road in April but blasting is causing some periodic road closures to take longer than expected.

Crews may blast today or Friday if the weather permits, Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Jason Bond said, and the blasting will occur intermittently for the next four to five weeks. VDOT will utilize electronic message boards to notify motorists to seek alternate routes if desired.

Generally construction crews will shut down a road for 15 to 20 minutes at a time to blast, Bond said. Occasionally debris lands on the roadway and it takes time to clean up before the road can reopen.

"That is just the nature of the work," Bond said. "We ask that you be patient and understand we will get the road opened as soon as we can."

The road was closed for more than 45 minutes one day last week, which backed up traffic and frustrated drivers, said Gloria Burchette, an employee at Bay Roc Marina.

"I mean people were just lined up both ways. They weren't very happy," she said.

The standstill did drum up business for the marina that afternoon, though, she said.

"Some people just pulled in and had lunch," Burchette said.

The project, which is expected to be finished in about a year, will pave the way for the replacement of the Hardy Ford Bridge, located at the Bedford County-Franklin County line at the headwaters of Smith Mountain Lake.

Bond said it is unclear exactly where the new bridge will be built or how its construction will affect traffic because plans have not been engineered.

Funding for the $5.4 million bridge won't be available until 2012 but Dale Wheeler of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors said it is long overdue.

"The necessity for it speaks for itself because of the amount of traffic on that road every day," Wheeler said.

Officials from VDOT estimate more than 4,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

"I wish I could wave a magic wand and start construction right now," Wheeler said.