A two-block section of Pacific Avenue will close for approximately eleven months on Weds., June 8 so construction crews can begin the next phase of Sound Transit’s D to M Streets Sounder track and signal project. When the final 1.4-mile segment of the project is complete, Sounder commuter rail service to Lakewood will be delivered in late 2012.

During the temporary closure, crews will bring streets to new grades, construct a rail bridge over Pacific Avenue, install new crossing gates and other safety equipment, and provide landscaping to the area. MidMountain Contractors, Inc., the agency’s contractor, has built a bypass road on South Tacoma Way, made improvements to other roads that will serve as detour routes, and installed temporary traffic signals to minimize traffic disruption.

For the next 11 months, downtown Tacoma businesses, residents and visitors will see the following work:

— Starting next week, crews will reopen A Street to serve as a detour route. South C Street will also reopen as a detour route.

— Pacific Avenue will be lowered up to 18 feet between South 25th and South 27th Streets to allow clearance for the new rail bridge.

— A rail overpass at Pacific Avenue will be constructed.

— A bypass road on South Tacoma way will provide access to Interstate 5 and Pacific Avenue south of South 27th Street.

— South Tacoma Way between South C Street and Pacific Avenue will temporarily close. It will reopen next year once the project is complete.

— South 26th Street from Pacific Avenue to A Street will also close during construction and reopen next year. Detour routes will be accessible on South 27th Street and A Street.

During construction, Sound Transit will work closely with Dome District and Hillside Development Group merchants to promote downtown businesses. Street closures, detours and other project news will be regularly communicated through email alerts, home mailers, community meetings, and on Sound Transit’s Web site. Residents and business owners can sign up to receive project updates at http://www.soundtransit.org/Subscribe-to-alerts.xml .

When Pacific Avenue reopens next spring, crews will begin the final phase of the project. A Street will be permanently closed to vehicular traffic, lowered and rebuilt as a pedestrian and bicycle undercrossing. Crews will also bring South C Street to a new street grade to support an at-grade rail crossing. Tacoma Rail tracks also will be rebuilt.

Additional information on the project, including pedestrian and bicycle detours, is available at http://www.soundtransit.org/DtoM .