AUBURN – A state-funded road project aimed at downtown Main Street will wait a few weeks because merchants are worried the work would make the road unsafe.

The project calls for removing Main Street’s old pavement between Court and Academy streets, resurfacing the road and putting down new sidewalks.

But part of the plan would also change the intersection of Mechanics Row, and that has downtown merchants worried. Mechanics Row traffic now has to yield at Main Street. The new plan would let cars southbound on Mechanics Row continue onto Main Street without stopping or yielding to other cars.

“Basically, that’s a design that will encourage more big trucks on that road, and faster traffic,” said John Cleveland of Community Dynamics Corp. at 201 Main St. “It’s the difference between designing a transitional highway between different parts of the city and designing a road for an urban, mixed use area.”

Cleveland and a group of Main Street business owners have met with city officials to discuss the project. Eric Labelle, Auburn’s community service director, said the city is working with the state.

“We have not given our green light for the project,” Labelle said. “It is a Department of Transportation project, but it’s in the city of Auburn, so they will work with us to make sure we get the very best product for the city that we can.”

Labelle is reviewing crash data and accident reports from Auburn police concerning the intersection, he said. “We still have questions, and the biggest one is what effect the changes to Mechanics Row will have,” Labelle said. “We need to see if there is a change that’s justified, and what the best traffic-calming measures might be.”

Work was initially set to begin this month. The state is tentatively scheduled to begin taking bids on the project on Aug. 15. If it does, work would begin in the fall and be completed next spring.