A portion of one of the city's major thoroughfares will be slow moving much of this year as it undergoes what city officials describe as a much-needed face-lift.

Construction crews are busy expanding Matlock — from Interstate 20 on the north to Bardin on the south — from four to six lanes.

Motorists currently are restricted to one lane on each side of the street but will eventually be diverted to the southbound side only, while workers widen northbound lanes and vice versa.

"That is one of most congested pieces of roadway, especially in peak times," said Jill House, assistant director of the Public Works and Transportation Department.

The work, a joint project of the City of Arlington and Tarrant County Commissioners Court, is expected to be complete by Thanksgiving and the street reopened to complete access for the holiday shopping season. Matlock is a point of entry for both the Arlington Highlands and The Parks at Arlington retail developments.

The project has a total cost of about $1.8 million and is being funded by the Tarrant County Bond Program.