LaGRANGE — A portion of Horace King Street and Lafayette Parkway will close in mid-June for an undetermined period of time in an effort to alleviate traffic on Greenville and Horace King streets.

Horace King Street south of Lafayette Parkway — next to Kimble’s Events by Design — will close completely to allow two southbound lanes to turn east on Lafayette Parkway, according to Lou Dekmar, LaGrange public safety chief.

The move comes as traffic is backing up at the four-way stop of Greenville and Horace King streets due to the closure of the Greenville Street railroad bridge east of the intersection. The police department hopes by closing the portion of street, motorists will be able to turn through the intersection more quickly. Earlier this year, the Georgia Department of Transportation deemed the Greenville Street railroad bridge unsafe for traffic.

Barricades will be placed on on the south side of Horace King Street’s intersection with Lafayette Parkway. North of Lafayette Parkway, the two southbound lanes will be re-striped. The right lane will allow drivers to turn left onto Lafayette Parkway toward Interstate 85 or right toward downtown LaGrange. The left lane will simultaneously allow for left turns. Traffic signals will also be altered to accommodate the changes.

A traffic study by the LaGrange Police Department showed that about 800 cars per day enter the intersection of Horace King Street and Lafayette Parkway from the south side, which is slated be barricaded and closed. About 3,000 cars per day enter the intersection from the other side.

Dekmar said the police department will continue to monitor the traffic flow and further changes, including re-opening the south end of Horace King Street, if the move doesn’t solve the traffic problem.

The Greenville Street railroad bridge could be closed for more than a year, city officials said this week.