Motorists driving on Highway 97 and several other Okanogan County-area roads can expect delays next week as road work continues, according to the state Department of Transportation.
     Travelers can expect 10-minute delays on Janis bridge south of Tonasket Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13-14, during bridge deck repair work. Single-lane, alternating, flagger-controlled traffic is expected from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.
     DOT crews will patch the bridge deck, according to the DOT announcement.
     Farther south, similar delays can be expected from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 15, as the DOT crew moves to the Okanogan River bridge on Highway 97 in Omak.
     Bridge decking will be patched, according to the DOT.
     A bridge deck and rain repair project continues on Highway 153 north of Pateros. Several bridges between mileposts 3 and 16 are being repaired.
     A 10-foot wide load restriction is in effect, and temporary signals are in place on two bridges, according to the DOT announcement.
     This week, MRM crews will:
     Finish removing the baluster rails and installing form work for the new sidewalk supports on bridge Nos. 3 and 10.
     Begin installation of new guardrail across bridge No. 4. During daylight hours, the work will require up to 10-minute delays with flagger-controlled traffic, according to the announcement.
     The two-season project will repair five bridges on Highway 153. Work began April 30, 2007.
     Another project, on Highway 97, is scheduled to begin May 19.
     In the $750,000 project, Scarsella Brothers crews will flatten roadside slopes, remove hazards and install new guardrail along three sections of Highway 97 in Kittitas, Chelan and Okanogan counties where as many as 40 percent of crashes have been off-the-road collisions, according to the DOT.
     Work should be complete by the end of June, according to the announcement.
     Elsewhere, motorists can expect short delays with single-lane, alternating, flagger-controlled traffic where crews are working in Douglas, Chelan, Grant and Okanogan counties on various roads. Work runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
     One crew will finish pre-leveling (hot mix asphalt patching) on Highway 207 from Highway 2 to Lake Wenatchee then, it will move to Highway 20 13 miles east of Tonasket.
     The crewís last project will be on Highway 173 from Brewster to Bridgeport.
     A second crew continues installation of new lighting and poles on Highway 17 at Baseline Road, Road S S.E. and Road M S.E., according to the announcement.
     In the $5.1 million project, Central Washington Asphalt Inc. is chip sealing 128 miles of pavement on seven state highways in Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Adams and Okanogan counties. Work began April 14 and should be complete in mid-July, according to DOT officials.