Traffic will be a little more bottlenecked now with the city closing the intersection of Third and Lincoln streets.

The city of Bloomington was forced to close the busy intersection Thursday afternoon after a routine inspection.

An engineering inspection determined the infrastructure supporting the road was structurally unsound and unsafe for travel, according to city officials. Mary Catherine Carmichael, communications director for the city, said a problem was located in the culvert that runs underneath the intersection. The road is directly above a 16-foot-wide storm sewer built to accommodate the Jordan River as it runs underground. Areas of infrastructure north and east of this sewer were improved in the early 2000s as part of the "Big Dig."

Third Street is closed for two blocks from Grant Street to Washington Street.

Traffic headed east will be rerouted from Third Street, south on College Avenue or, if necessary, on Washington Street, then east on Second Street. Traffic will then head north on Henderson Street, then turn east onto Atwater Avenue.

Traffic heading west will be detoured north on Grant Street, west onto Fourth Street, south onto Washington Street, then reconnect to Third Street.

There will be access to the parking lot of the Boys and Girls Club, 311 S. Lincoln St., through the alleys.

Carmichael said the main concern Thursday was public safety. Now the city will be focused on finding out how to fix the problem.

"This is probably a job that we will probably need to get some external help for as well," she said.