BLOOMINGTON -- Anyone driving along Main Street the past couple of weeks knows what's going on.

Uneven lanes, rough, grooved surfaces and traffic delays are all part of the obstacles created by a massive resurfacing project running through the middle of the Twin Cities.

The $5.5 million project to resurface 4.82 miles of Business 51 from Raab Road in Normal to Lafayette Street in Bloomington began at the end of June and it won't be completed until late fall.

Crews near downtown Bloomington are grinding off the old asphalt while new asphalt is being laid along the route on the north side of Normal, said Jeffrey Birch, project implementation engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"We are making good progress in Normal, but we are still working on it and school is getting close to starting," Birch said.

IDOT was trying to complete as much of the Business 51 project as possible in Normal first so that it would be ready for the heavier traffic created by Illinois State University students returning to campus later this month.

Birch said waterproofing of the bridge at College Avenue, one major part of the project, has been completed.

"That was going to be the most complicated part of the construction and that would cause the greatest in traffic disruption," Birch said. "I know the contractor wanted to get that done and out of the way as soon as possible."

Under the terms of its contract with IDOT, Rowe Construction of Bloomington has until Nov. 20 to complete the project.

Birch said doing the highway in one large project is an inconvenience to drivers, but he added that it takes less time than to do it in pieces.

"Everyone knows that portion of 51 was due for resurfacing," Birch said. "But if we get in there and do it all at one time, it is less of a disruption in the long term for drivers."