Baldwin County school students return to the classroom Aug. 9, and road closures in Fairhope may alter their route to school.

Fairhope Avenue has seen section closures over the past year for a Force Main upgrade, and the project, which started in downtown, has made its way to the section between County Road 13 and U.S. Highway 181.

Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan said crews will work to have the route open until 8 a.m. when school starts.

"We are trying to be very mindful that school will be in soon. My ultimate goal is to make sure that at least until 8 a.m. every day that traffic is flowing normally," Sullivan said. "To be honest, we don't know how long that is going to take. We are trying to work that as quickly as we can."

Sullivan said the project could take two to three weeks but quicker if the weather stays dry.

Infrastructure upgrades are something Fairhope residents will continue to see.

"We are going to continue to see these infrastructure projects continue to happen over the next several years," Sullivan said. "We are doing the best we can to coordinate that with traffic flow and everything else. Unfortunately, these projects are necessary."

School traffic to the Fairhope feeder pattern will also be affected by the continued work on the new County Road 13 and Twin Beech Road (County Road 44) roundabout project that began in February. The project is anticipated to be completed in December.