Installation of water pipelines along Research Forest Drive is in full swing and area drivers should expect to see lane closures on one of the most heavily traveled roads in The Woodlands over the next several months.

The San Jacinto River Authority is moving forward with installation of 55 miles of pipeline from Lake Conroe south throughout The Woodlands and east throughout Conroe in its efforts to meet state requirements that the area reduce its reliance on groundwater by 30 percent by Jan. 1, 2016.

One of the areas that will see a lane closure is a three-mile stretch of Research Forest Drive between Alden Bridge Drive and Shadowbend Place. Mark Smith, Groundwater Reduction Plan administrator, said the right lane of eastbound traffic will be closed while crews install a pipeline beneath the roadway. The left lane will not be closed within the three-mile segment.

Smith said the project should be completed by the end of the year.

However, lanes in front of The Woodlands High School will not be closed until next summer.

"We're skipping that section because we cannot be working during school," Smith said.

Construction on the segment in front of The Woodlands High School will commence in May 2014, with an expected completion date of August 2014.

"It is a tight window, but the contractor there will already be mobilized and will have already installed thousands of feet of pipe," Smith said. "They will be able to make quick work of it."

As crews work to install pipeline near the Cochran's Crossing Village Center seven of the nine entrances to the shopping center will be closed at various times, Smith said.

Up-to-date information regarding the status of lane closures and construction progress is available on the SJRA's website at www.sjra.net, as well as on The Woodlands Township's website at www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov.