Some commuters driving south on Interstate 83 toward Baltimore got a rude awakening Monday morning — traffic backed up as far as the Pennsylvania line, as construction crews had one of two lanes closed down for accelerated roadwork.

The State Highway Administration announced last week it was extending work hours for resurfacing roughly four miles of the expressway in northern Baltimore County due to impacts from heavy rains on the roadway’s condition.

Crews already had begun milling the top layer of asphalt along that stretch of expressway — between the exit for Middletown Road and about a mile south of the Old York Road exit — when days of heavy rains caused increased stress on the pavement.

Now crews need to finish the resurfacing as quickly as possible to stave off more extensive and expensive work later, according to SHA spokesperson Charlie Gischlar.

That means one lane in either direction could be closed at any time, as crews shifted from working during off-peak hours to working whenever the weather permits, including nights and weekends.

If weather holds, highway officials expect to finish the project by early July. If it’s not completed by July 4, they are considering suspending work that weekend to prevent traffic jams during holiday travel.

Drivers should consider using York Road, which runs parallel to I-83, as an alternate route, or adjust their schedules as best they can to avoid travel during peak hours. Information regarding traffic incidents and events, which can be filtered by county, is updated regularly and available on the SHA website.