An exact start date isn’t set, but work will soon begin on a $3.1 million construction project for Marion Village.

Pipe and roadway improvements should start no later than the first week of October, but Marion Department of Public Works Director Rob Zora said he hopes work starts this month.

“No date has been set. We’re waiting to finish up some paperwork before we can move forward and award the (construction) contract,” Zora said.

He said unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather, could change the schedule.

Once started, construction will shut down parts of Ryder Lane, South Street, and Spring Street. Residents may have to move vehicles off those streets while workers dig, Zora said. Those affected will receive advance notice.

“There will be ample notice and a resident engineer will be on site to make sure everything goes very smoothly,” he said. Should weather permit, work will continue through winter, Zora said.

This project is the first phase of an $18.4 million, 10-year plan to fix roads, sewers, and drainage pipes in the village proposed by engineering firm Camp, Dresser, McKee, and Smith, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

Project engineer Shawn Syde said the project was set to start after Labor Day to avoid summer traffic. Informational meetings for residents will be scheduled ahead of construction. Those meetings will be well publicized so residents can know what to expect, he said.

Syde noted those three streets were targeted first because they are among the worst roads in town. Also, the town’s main drainage lines are located beneath the streets, meaning they have to be worked on before other roads.

The project earned voter approval at Town Meeting, where it passed with the required two-thirds vote.

Known as Phase 1A, residents were assured by town officials that the project would not affect local taxpayers. However, subsequent phases would lead to a hike in either water or sewer rates.

Residents are not compelled to approve the other parts of the project Town Administrator Paul Dawson noted last spring.