Emergency road work by the Washington State Department of Transportation will shut traffic down to one lane on State Highway 202 at Tokul Creek near Snoqualmie Falls through the month of September.

The $1.5 million project removes old piers to prevent potentially damaging erosion to the Tokul bridge. Work is slated to begin as early as Wednesday, Sept. 1, proceeding around the clock through the rest of the month. Flaggers will be in place to direct cars, and delays are expected, particularly during heavy commute hours. According to WSDOT, some 8,000 cars use the route daily.

“This work has to be done by October,” WSDOT Spokesman Mike Murphy said. “We can’t work once water levels rise.”

Tokul Creek will be diverted into a pipe during the project.

As of Monday, the state had not selected a contractor for the project, which is paid for by federal emergency transportation funds.

Once piers are removed, rocks will be put in place to secure the abutment.

A visible landslide west of the bridge is not part of the problem and is a natural occurrence, according to Murphy.