While the city expects the project to take about a year, officials are working with the contractor to see if it can be done in less time, Murphy said.
In sections where construction is taking place, the road will be constricted to half its normal six lanes. In addition to the rebuilding of intersections and resurfacing of the rest of Lombard downtown, the city will be working on improvements to electrical and other utilities.
City officials have identified three groups they want to reach with suggestions on how to avoid expected tie-ups.
For people who regularly go through downtown from East Baltimore, they suggest an alternate route going north on Central Avenue and west on Orleans and Franklin streets (U.S. 40).
For those coming from the north to games at Camden Yards, officials recommend using Martin Luther King Boulevard. Many drivers now take the Jones Fall Expressway to its south end, which would likely put them in the construction zone.
Downtown workers are urged to take light rail or the Metro subway. On July 27, the city expects to begin operating a free "circulator" shuttle bus along Lombard and Pratt streets between the University of Maryland Biopark and Harbor East.
Transportation officials said the city is taking a multimedia approach to disseminating information about the project. In addition to setting up a Web site, www.LombardProject.com, officials will use Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites to provide updates.
Barnes said engineers determined that the rebuilding work is needed soon because Lombard Street is so heavily traveled.
"We need to get ahead of it before it becomes a roadway that deteriorates," the Transportation Department spokeswoman said.
