GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The Pearl Street Bridge is closing for about two weeks starting March 17 as crews begin the first stages of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel glass facade replacement.

The closure extends past the bridge to Front Avenue NW on the west side and Monroe Avenue NW on the east side.

Traffic congestion is expected during the closure, which is expected to run from March 17 to March 31, depending on wind conditions, according to Mike Donnelly, general manager of the Amway Grand Plaza. Hotel and parking garage access will remain open.

A detour from the U.S. 131 Pearl Street exit will lead drivers up to Michigan Street and around to Monroe Avenue. Drivers are encouraged to use the Market Avenue or Ottawa Avenue exits instead.

On March 18, trucks on Pearl Street will unload pieces of a crane that will eventually sit atop the Amway Grand Plaza and lift glass panes and other equipment into place during the two-year construction process.

A small crane will assemble these pieces. Then, a larger crane will be brought in to lift the assembled crane on top of the hotel, Donnelly said.

The project to replace the entire glass exterior of the Amway Grand Hotel tower with clear, insulated glass is billed at $40 million and expected complete in April 2021.

The glass will appear silver or gray in color from the street, and the top three floors of the tower will have different lighting and glass panel sizes from the rest of the structure to highlight the angled roof.

Hotel officials have previously said the update will bring energy efficiencies and a “modernized” look to the tower in downtown Grand Rapids.