CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Work began Tuesday to widen Lawyers Road between the interchange with I-485 in eastern Mecklenburg County and the intersection with U.S. Highway 601 in Union County.

A construction crew will add one to two feet of pavement to each side of the road.

Much of Lawyers Road is a narrow "farm-to-market" road.

The N.C. Department of Transportation says the project will improve safety by making the lanes wider.

Workers will start at I-485 and head east in one- to two-mile stretches.

The work will occur between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, according to the DOT.

Flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone.

Construction should finished in May 2007.