The city of Columbus is kicking off major improvements today to County Road 450S in the area of the Walesboro industrial parks.

The work will happen between County Road 50W and Interstate 65 and the construction will be ongoing through most of October.

The changes are due, in part, to the new Faurecia plant that recently opened in the area. It is expected to soon have 450 employees, city officials say. The city will be improving three intersections on County Road 450S, adding passing blisters, widening the pavement and improving the traffic signals at Old Lane.

The city will be using grant money from the state’s Industrial Development Grant Fund which will cover 50 percent of the project cost, up to $500,000.

The Board of Public Works and Safety awarded the $383,720 contract to Dave O’Mara Contractors with the rest to be paid from tax increment financing funds.

You will also see some disruptions in traffic in downtown Columbus starting today. The city has two projects going on at Third and Washington Streets. Crews will be repairing pavers at the intersection and painting signal poles and pedestrian pedestals. Starting today the north lane of the intersection will be closed.

The work is expected to take about two weeks.