Norwich — The Eighth Street Bridge that connects North Main Street in Greeneville to Hamilton Avenue and the East Side will be closed Thursday through Monday as Norwich Public Utilities undertakes what the utility called “one of its more challenging water main repair projects.”

The project involves removing a section of the Providence & Worcester Railroad to repair a 20-foot section of damaged water main directly beneath the active rail line. The work has been closely coordinated with the railroad and was scheduled to avoid all rail freight traffic on the line through Norwich, NPU officials said.

Traffic in both directions over the Eighth Street Bridge in Greeneville will be detoured along North Main Street, East Main Street, Hamilton Avenue and Smith Avenue. Signs have been posted to notify the public of the construction schedule and detour plan.

Prior to the closure this week, NPU and crews from RH White will mobilize equipment and conduct excavation work at the worksite. Traffic will alternate, one way at a time, with flaggers. The road will be fully open on all three nights. It is possible that gravel surfaces or steel plates will be on the road for safety purposes.

Thursday through Sunday, traffic will be completely closed in both directions over the bridge to allow for the removal of the damaged water main and installation of the new water main.

On Monday, crews will re-establish the westbound lane of Eighth Street with alternating one-way traffic during the day and two-way traffic at night. This traffic pattern will continue until the project is completed.

Given the complexity and difficulty of this project, this schedule could be subject to change, NPU officials said. NPU will post regular updates on its Facebook page, facebook.com/NPUtilities, on the schedule and progress of this project.