The rebuilding of the Avon Bridge, originally scheduled to being last week, will begin Monday.

The change was made by Dan's Excavating, the contractor leading the rebuilding, according to a statement released Monday morning by the Road Commission for Oakland County.

The bridge will be closed until June 15.

During the closure, the detour route for through traffic will be Livernois Road to Hamlin Road to Rochester Road and vice versa, according to the Road Commission. Livernois will remain open at the Avon Road intersection.

Avon Road will be completely closed at the bridge, but local traffic accessing homes, businesses and Rochester College east of the bridge will be allowed to use Avon Road east of the bridge (accessing the road from Rochester Road).

The rebuilding of the bridge has been a year in the making: Last February it was found to be rapidly deteriorating; all but one lane in each direction has been closed since then. In a finding that compounded traffic congestion at the busy Avon-Livernois intersection, the Livernois Bridge was also discovered shortly after to be deteriorating. The Livernois Bridge will be replaced next year.

The Avon Bridge project involves removing and replacing the bridge over the Clinton River just east of Livernois. The new bridge will be constructed of pre-stressed concrete and contain the same five lanes as the existing bridge. The project will include repaving, new guardrails and relocation of a water main.

The Avon bridge is expected to cost about $2.6 million. A Michigan Local Bridge Program grant will cover $2.5 million of the cost, and the Oakland County Road Commission will cover most of the remaining cost. The city of Rochester Hills is contributing $32,000 for the installation of decorative lighting and hand rails as well as some pathway construction.