A new year will usher in new traffic pattern changes along the Southlake Boulevard/FM 1709 and Northwest Hwy. bridges between Southlake and Grapevine as NorthGate Constructors begins major work in the area.

Construction on the new bridge directly connecting Northwest Hwy. to Southlake Blvd./FM 1709 will kick off in earnest in early January and will take more than a year to complete. One-way traffic switches in the area will take four nights (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) to go into effect.

Jan. 3: Park Blvd. between Northwest Hwy. and Wall St. will be closed. Traffic will detour to Northwest Hwy. and Gateway Drive.

Jan. 4: The Southlake Blvd./FM 1709 bridge will be closed. Traffic will detour to William D. Tate Avenue, and when the bridge reopens at 6 a.m., traffic will only be able to drive eastbound on on the bridge from Commerce St. to the westbound Hwy. 114 frontage road.

Jan. 5: Northwest Hwy. and Gateway Drive from Park Blvd. to Southlake Blvd./FM 1709 will be closed. Traffic will detour to Kimball Avenue, and when the road reopens at 6 a.m., drivers will only be able to drive westbound on the Northwest Hwy. bridge.

Jan. 6: Eastbound Southlake Blvd./FM 1709 from Commerce St. to the eastbound Hwy. 114 frontage road will close as well as two lanes on the eastbound Hwy. 114 frontage road. Traffic will detour to Gateway Drive.

Marc Rothwell, intersections manager for NorthGate Constructors, said in a company news release that the one-way pattern will help speed up construction and minimize the impact on motorists.

"The new pattern will allow us to keep the number of lanes that exist today, and it will also cut down on the number of traffic switches required to complete the construction," he said.

The one-way configurations, with eastbound-only traffic on the Southlake Blvd. bridge and westbound-only traffic on the Northwest Hwy. bridge, is expected to last until the second quarter of 2013. The DFW Connector project, which stretches 8.4 miles into Grapevine, Southlake and Irving, is scheduled to wrap up in early 2014.

For the latest news on the DFW Connector's construction schedule, visit www.dfwconnector.com.