By Aaron Wasserman awasserman@sentinelandenterprise.com

FITCHBURG -- The long-awaited construction to widen parts of Route 12 began fairly quietly Monday, with little additional congestion along the main thoroughfare between the city and Leominster.

Construction workers started at the project's northernmost portion, where they will expand and realign the intersection with Bemis and Wanoosnoc roads. They worked Monday on demolition and clearing to execute the redesign.

Bemis Road is expected to be closed for a few-block chunk east of Route 12 for the next month, according to Ray DiPerrio, a superintendent with A.F. Amorello & Sons, the Worcester company awarded the project's $7.5 million contract.

DiPerrio said in an on-site interview he plans to keep two lanes of traffic flowing on Route 12 for the whole summer.

"Things are going very well," he said. "Traffic is moving fine. I haven't seen any problems."

In addition to the Bemis Road reconstruction, the project will expand Route 12 from two to four lanes between State Street in Leominster and Benson Street here; reconfigure the intersection of Route 12 and Erdman Way in Leominster; and improve sidewalks for better pedestrian safety.

Work is scheduled to move southward as it progresses and last through June 2009.

A Sentinel & Enterprise reporter drove through construction at four different times Monday, and the trip only took slightly longer than usual once. A few small back-ups developed on side streets handling the Bemis Road detour.

Police officers were posted at the three biggest intersections, and DiPerrio said the stoplight at Bemis Road was changed to a blinking yellow at his request to help traffic.

Several businesses along the stretch of Route 12 interviewed Monday said they had noticed a lighter-than-usual traffic flow, but had not found a substantial impact on sales.

"Because my business is half delivery, half pick-ups, it will be reduced, but today there were no problems -- average, above average," said Stefan Bej, the owner and manager of Pizza King of Leominster.

Some businesses operating along Route 12 have expressed concerns ever since the project was proposed about how the two years of construction will hurt their customer base, and those interviewed Monday said they feel similarly.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce will hold a meeting for Route 12 businesses later this month to help them deal with the impact, according to Linda Everett, who runs Aerus Electrolux of Fitchburg, a vacuum sales and service store, with her husband.

She said "just the fact that it will be difficult to get in and out of here" will hurt business, and her company is adjusting by planning to ramp up its home delivery.

She added, however, she supports the project concept because Route 12 needs to be able to better handle its traffic.

Mayor Dan H. Mylott, a strong project supporter, said in an interview he hopes complications will stay at a minimum.

"The only way to look at it is optimistically and that it will go as smoothly as possible, and the only issues will be minor," he said. "This is a major construction project. You're going to have minor delays and that's how we'll hope they stay."