Some of Augusta's toughest traffic jams might end in 2009 as crews finish work on two major road projects.

Work on the Bobby Jones Expressway and Interstate 20 interchange is scheduled to be complete by October, almost a year ahead of schedule, according to Mike Keene, area engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

As it ends, so will the frequent lane shifts and closures that have plagued motorists since the project began in 2007.

"Most of our major projects right now are expected to be completed" in 2009, Mr. Keene said.

That includes work on the Lewiston Road interchange in Columbia County and the $51 million I-20 lane expansion from Warren Road to the Augusta Canal.

"The major work that's going to be left out there is we are rebuilding what was the existing lanes of I-20," he said.

"The second thing that's the largest thing is actually getting the two fly-over bridges (at St. Sebastian) and the Wheeler Road bridge completed."

Work on the $30 million St. Sebastian Way project will begin in earnest this year.

For most of the year, workers will be building the fly-over ramps, which will connect the city's medical center to River Watch Parkway and bypass downtown railroad tracks, Mr. Keene said.

Mr. Keene said his office is anxiously waiting for the Augusta Canal Authority to drain the canal for cleaning this month so work crews can build support structures in the canal.

"It's going to help us because we will be able to get in there and work on bridges and drainage work to the canal without having to worry about the water being in there," Mr. Keene said.

There will be few major traffic shifts until this summer, when a portion of 15th Street from Broad Street to the Calhoun Expressway will be closed for about a month.

Walton Way might also be shut down for several days near St. Sebastian Way.

Mr. Keene said drivers might be able to use the new roadway before the project's projected completion date of July 2010, leaving workers to complete some minor intersection work.

"We're hoping that the St. Sebastian mainline portion will be opened up sometime late in the year," he said. "People will be able to drive on it and we'll just have some intersection work to do."