Motorists who routinely travel to and from Butler's South Side are no doubt relieved over the news that during most of the time when the new Wayne Street Bridge is being built in 2008 and 2009, a detour will not be necessary.

That's because the new bridge's alignment will not be the same as the current span's. The new bridge will be slightly southwest of the current bridge.

For only about three months — near the end of construction when the new span is actually connected to Wayne Street — a detour will be in effect mainly for trucks, according to information made public Tuesday evening during display of the plans at the Days Inn.

The two-season construction timetable seems reasonable, with actual work on the new span not anticipated to begin until probably weeks after April 16, 2008, the target date for awarding of contracts.

All in all, drivers will fare better than they encountered during construction of the new General Richard Butler Bridge and replacement of the North Main Street Extension bridge that spans Route 422.

After a brief detour and the brisk pace of construction of the northbound side of the General Butler Bridge in 2005, the pace of the project slowed this year, with the southbound side not being opened until earlier this month.

Motorists encountered delays that now don't exist with all lanes of the span open to traffic.

Meanwhile, the North Main Street project — for replacement of the bridge's I-beams and deck — has been a source of frustration to many drivers who have sat in line wondering why the project has taken so long.

People who have traveled Route 22 between Robinson Township, Allegheny County, and the highway's Burgettstown exit in Washington County have watched this year as earth was moved, three overpasses were put in place, at least two of which were opened to traffic, and exit lanes constructed, in weeks less time than the short North Main Street project has involved.

The new Route 22 interchange was built to help carry traffic to and from Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.

Even though the Wayne Street span will be only one lane in each direction, it will be a significant improvement over what exists with the current span, which was built about 1915. That's because it will eliminate the difficult turn for big trucks turning onto or getting off of Center Avenue.

The new bridge will tie in to Wayne Street at about the same place as the current bridge.

With a price tag of $10 million to $15 million, the new Wayne Street Bridge will bring to about $35 million, the state's investment in downtown Butler. The General Butler Bridge's cost has been listed as $23.1 million.

The bridge projects are an important part of the revitalization efforts that are envisioned up and down Main Street. Indeed, the two bridges are giant building blocks of what leaders hope will be a successful renaissance initiative.

Delays and inconveniences will be part of those efforts; that's one price of progress.

It can only be hoped that patience and understanding will prevail for those working hard to bring about the best outcome, in the least amount of time possible.