The four-year closure of part of West First Street in downtown Dayton has been delayed until the end of the month, Ohio Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

The closure was originally scheduled to begin today. It will affect First Street between Robert Drive and Red Cross Lane, covering the area under and immediately around the I-75 overpass.

ODOT officials announced Wednesday morning that scheduling changes in the I-75 Modernization Project will allow this section of First Street to remain open this month. An exact closure date has not been announced.

When the road closes, drivers entering downtown from the Salem Avenue bridge will have to turn right on Robert Drive and left on Third Street to enter downtown.

Some West First Street businesses are upset because the road closure and the nature of the street — one-way eastbound — mean drivers coming from the west and northwest will have to wind through several turns and find Red Cross Lane to get to their sites.

Sandy Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said she understands those businesses’ frustration, but added that the I-75 project will be “really positive for downtown in the long term.”

ODOT said once the affected section of First Street closes, it will not reopen to motorists until September 2017.