By CRAIG FREILICH

CANTON -- The paving and minor repairs to Main Street planned for the week of Aug. 15 are designed to improve traffic flow through downtown until the major U.S. Rt. 11 project begins next year, according to the state Department of Transportation.

“There are some minor spot repairs, maybe some potholes, but nothing dramatic,” said DOT Region 7 spokesman Michael Flick.

The spot repairs and paving overlay are to get that stretch of Main Street, between Riverside Drive next to the Grasse River to Stiles Avenue near the Sunoco station east of the downtown core, “smoothed up a little bit so traffic can move better,” said Flick.

Work will begin mornings at 6 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

Traffic will be controlled by flaggers.

Motorists should expect delays and plan accordingly, DOT said.

No sidewalk work or major road reconstruction is planned for this project. All that and more is part of a $10 million project scheduled to begin next spring and to be finished about a year and a half later, according to current estimates.

The big one-mile project slated for next year begins at the intersection of State Rt. 68 and U.S. 11 and continues north to the intersection with Stiles Avenue.

“The objectives of the project are to improve pavement conditions and storm drainage, to correct existing and emerging operational problems and safety related deficiencies, as well as to improve pedestrian and bicycle access,” according to the current DOT plan for next spring.