Starting Monday, the Arizona Department of Transportation is set to repair three bridges along Interstate 40 leading into a historic Route 66 community. the town of Seligman will remain open for business, despite the temporary closure of one key freeway exit.

Come summertime and Seligman gets busy.

"I’m gonna say maybe 60 percent are Europeans, French, Germans, Asians and the rest are American families," said John Delgadillo. He’s the president of the Seligman Chamber of Commerce and the owner of Delgadillo’s Snow Cap a local drive-in.

Delgadillo said some business owners were concerned that those tourists, which businesses rely on during the summer months, might bypass the town due to the closure. ADOT has worked with local businesses to make sure signage directing travelers to the next exit is in place. They’ve also produced brochures and a video. 

"Because the business owners, they understand the need for this project, they understand that we need to repair the bridge decks and keep that going," said Ryan Harding, with ADOT. So we met with them. We talked with them, heard their concerns. Some of their concerns were that with the exit closed that people would bypass the town and go to the next town," he said.

Seligman is about 60 miles west of Flagstaff.