Brown County, Wis. (WFRV) -- Drivers in Brown County are about to deal with some long term traffic changes on Highway 29 at Highway 41.

Tuesday night, a section of Highway 29 was shut down until April of 2014.

If you drive in that area, the sight of orange barrels and heavy equipment may not even phase you anymore.  But Eric Gwidt of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation says now is not the time to relax.

"I think people are use to construction.  We talk about traffic shifts and closures, but I think this will be the most impactful," Gwidt said.

Construction crews are closing down all of Highway 29 between Packerland Drive and Highway 41.

It's shutting down so crews can tear out the existing roadway and begin construction of the high-speed free flow ramps that will connect the new Highway 29 with a rebuilt Highway 41.

"They have to go over U.S. 41, 35 feet of fill needs to go in for the bridges and all that needs to go where the existing 29 is," Gwidt said.

Starting Wednesday, all eastbound and westbound 29 traffic will bypass the construction along the recently completed Shawano Avenue.

The work is all part of the ongoing $1 billion dollar U.S. 41 reconstruction project in Brown County.