Lansing resident Cory Jones will have to take another route to campus when construction begins on Interstate 496 at 6 p.m. on April 2.

The eastern portion of I-496 will temporarily close from Pine Street to US-127 for five months.

“I imagine I’ll probably have to leave about a half hour before class to get there,” Jones said.

The microbiology senior, who lives on Waverly Road in Lansing, will use Saginaw Highway once the $40 million construction begins.

Lansing traffic officials are requesting other residents, students and commuters plan replacement routes.

“It’s important that students plan an alternate route to move around the downtown,” said Kari Debnar, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The construction includes rebuilding 32 bridges, adding a third merge/weave lane between US-127 and Pennsylvania Avenue, reconstructing one mile of freeway and repairing seven miles of freeway.

Construction will occur in two stages. After the east section of I-496 reopens to traffic, construction will begin from Pine Street west to I-96.

Sandy Draggoo, executive director of the Capital Area Transportation Authority, said people driving to MSU from west of Lansing should look into public transportation.

“East Lansing is not going to be nearly as affected by this as downtown Lansing,” she said.