RAY BROOK — The closure of a segment of state Route 86 between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake has been postponed a week, and will now start on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., rather than on Sept. 11. The delay is designed to give the state Department of Transportation more time to prepare the site for its replacement of a large culvert.

DOT Public Information Officer Bryan Viggiani said the expected end date for the work replacing a culvert over the Little Ray Brook is now Sept. 23, at 4 p.m., weather permitting.

During the closure, motorists traveling between the villages will be rerouted via McKenzie Pond Road (county Route 33), which starts in Ray Brook at an intersection with Route 86 — just west of Tractor Supply Co. — and ends in Saranac Lake — at an intersection where it becomes Pine Street or turns down River Street.

People will still have access to the Ray Brook Post Office, just west of the state prison’s entrance road, but they have to drive there from the Saranac Lake side. Old Ray Brook Road (county Route 32) will remain open during the Route 86 closure, according to Essex County Department of Public Works Superintendent Jim Dougan, but the main detour will be along the McKenzie Pond Road.

“Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones,” Viggiani wrote in an email. “Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.”

He also reminded motorists to move over a lane, if safely possible, or slow down significantly whenever encountering roadside vehicles displaying red, white, blue, amber or green lights.

For up-to-date travel information, call 511, visit www.511NY.org or download the free 511NY mobile app.