PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Drivers traveling from U.S. 35 toward the Buffalo Bridge encounter a curve -- a problem the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) said causes accidents.

“We found that vehicles and trucks just find themselves going a little bit faster down there,” Brent Walker, a spokesperson for the WVDOT, said.

WVDOT officials said the road’s not as busy now that 35 is complete, but it’s still a concern for truck drivers unfamiliar with the area.

Walker said, “We wanted to eliminate that little turn which has caused so many accidents.”

The state plans to begin construction this summer on the more than $6 million project, working to make the path to the bridge a straight shot.

“I think it would be a great thing,” Michael Workman said.

Workman drives across the bridge every day, and like others in Buffalo, this is the first he’s heard of the project. He said he’s not worried about the impacts on traffic.

“I don’t think it would be an issue. I think, I mean people complain about construction regardless of what you do,” Workman said.

Walker said, “There will be periodic closures, at least one lane. We won’t be shutting down the bridge.”

Walker said they’re expecting the project to take about a year, and Workman said the bridge is busiest when employees come across before or after their shift at Toyota.

“Toyota’s been a great partner with the state of West Virginia, and so it’s been important that we work closely with them and look at some of their needs, and how we can make travel to and from a little bit easier,” Walker said.

Neighbors in Buffalo say the bridge project isn’t their biggest concern though, with some using other routes to get to work or run errands.

“The secondary roads, like 62 here all the way from here to Eleanor, the Midway area, it’s terrible. I mean, there’s potholes that you could lose tires in.”

The DOT said in the end, drivers will have a much safer intersection and a straighter line from 35 to the Buffalo bridge going both directions.

The project also includes improving the connection between U.S. 35 and state Route 817.

According to WVDOT, the contract for the project was awarded in March.