The first signs of COTA's speedy new bus service, scheduled to start in 2018, will materialize in the next few weeks. The Central Ohio Transit Authority plans to begin construction for its Cleveland Avenue bus rapid-transit project - dubbed Cmax - in early August.

The first signs of COTA�s speedy new bus service, scheduled to start in 2018, will materialize in the next few weeks.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority plans to begin construction for its Cleveland Avenue bus rapid-transit project � dubbed Cmax � in early August.

The contractor, Complete General Construction, will install 18-foot and 12-foot lighted pylons that display real-time arrival information at the line�s Downtown stops on High Street and start preparing stops on Cleveland Avenue for new shelters.

Construction will continue for about a year, with the start of service set for January 2018. That means minor disruptions for both vehicles and pedestrians.

�We try to spread out the impact,� said Brian Weiss, COTA�s director of capital projects.

When it�s finished, Cmax will run primarily along Cleveland Avenue from the south end of Downtown to OhioHealth's Westerville Medical Campus. The part that runs Downtown will operate on High Street. The project is expected to cost $48.6 million, with $37.4 million coming from the Federal Transit Administration.

Buses will make limited stops and have signal priority, so traffic lights will change when the buses approach intersections to keep them on schedule. That should make trips in the corridor faster than COTA�s local service.

Construction will begin on the south end of the line on High Street, where shelters already are in place. Pylons advertising the rapid-transit service need to be installed and connected to fiber-optic conduits at the stops so that COTA can control them.

As work moves north onto Cleveland Avenue, concrete pads will be installed for the new shelters. Once the shelters and pylons are manufactured, contractors will go back to install them with local art. Thirty-three shelters and 64 pylons will be installed.

Weiss said sidewalks on High Street should remain open, but smaller walkways on Cleveland Avenue will have to close at times to allow room for construction.

A single lane of traffic also will close when contractors are working on the new stops, but Weiss said three lanes of traffic should remain open most of the time. A resurfacing project for Cleveland Avenue between Weber Road and the Northland Transit Center also is planned for next summer.

Complete General Construction is supposed to be finished with the Downtown part of the project by April. Stops on Cleveland Avenue south of Route 161 must be done by June, and the entire project must be finished by November 2017.

COTA plans to update an interactive map at COTA.com with information about traffic disruptions related to the construction. COTA has four public meetings scheduled this week: 6 p.m. today at 350 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville; 6 p.m. Tuesday at 33 N. High St. Downtown; 6 p.m. Wednesday at 1721 Northland Park Ave. on the Northeast Side; and 5:30 p.m. Thursday at 1410 Cleveland Ave. on the Northeast Side.

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan