Folks making the commute through Roan Mountain may want to give themselves some extra time.

Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are working on a project for slope stabilization and rockfall mitigation of the rock face adjacent to the roadway on Highway 19E.

Because of the narrow roadway width and how close it is to the rock face, traffic has been reduced to a single lane.

This provides room for construction work and creates a safe landing area for rocks and debris as it is removed from the slope.

"You have a lot of things that can, unfortunately, go bad when you are working on rockslide mitigation, so safety is paramount on every TDOT project, not only for the motorist but for the workers," TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi said.

Pending any major complications or delays, officials hope to have the project completed by late August.