Beginning Wednesday, the southbound exit ramp from Highway 7 to University Avenue, and the southbound on-ramp from University Avenue to Highway 7 will be closed to all traffic while crews work on the future roundabout.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation will post message boards alerting motorists to Detour routes around the area and the city of Oxford will post periodic updates as they are made available from MDOT on its website and social media sites.

The roundabout will connect University Avenue to Highway 7. The current interchange is one of the area’s most dangerous intersections with cars having to cross over the busy University Avenue to get on and off Highway 7.

Work on the roundabout started in October and the project is expected to take about 18 months.

The project is being funded by Oxford, Lafayette County and MDOT, along with appropriations and grants from the Mississippi Legislature.

Any expenses that exceed all state-appropriated and designated funds and funds contributed by the city and county, will be paid by MDOT.