AMESBURY — While few would argue that Amesbury's streets, sidewalks and aging network of underground water lines are in need of an overhaul, the launch of those road projects may come at a steep price for those who don't like sitting in traffic.

After years of pushing for the widening of Route 110, the town's most traveled roadway, the first steps of the project could begin as early as this winter. Meanwhile, the replacement of water pipes under Route 150 and Elm Street is underway. Soon, the replacement projects for the Hines Bridge will begin, and after that two-year project, the Whittier Bridge will be replaced.

That means most of the main byways leading to the downtown will be under construction at some point in the near future and at the same time, leaving few alternate routes for locals and visitors to get around the work sites.

It's a traffic scenario that some town officials view as a "rip the bandage off" approach to getting the work done while funds are available, even if it might snarl traffic for a time.

"Believe me, it keeps me up at night," said Department of Public Works director Rob Desmarais of the traffic potential from all the road projects currently in the pipeline. "People are going to be angry."

Mayor Thatcher Kezer said the potential for traffic is a necessary evil that while painful, is actually a boon for Amesbury.

"Given the nature of funding for these projects, to time these things for sequence, you're going to jeopardize the funding," Kezer said. "You have to get the funding while you can. It's a case where when the money's available, you have to use it."

Of the many projects already underway, the most difficult one will be the Massachusetts Highway Department project slated to widen Route 110, which carries five to 10 times more traffic than any other roadway in Amesbury, Desmarais said.

Unlike the pipeline projects taking place on Elm Street and Route 150, the Route 110 project can't be done piecemeal by diverting traffic around short, simple detours.

And because the roadway is a major artery used by visitors making their way from Interstate 495 to points along the North Shore, he said the traffic will create gridlock with travelers unfamiliar with the area.

"It's mostly non-local traffic, and it's a widening, so the entire road is going to be (involved)," Desmarais said.

An education outreach program is being planned for this coming summer to let residents know what they can expect for a time line on each project, but Desmarais said the challenge will be to educate out-of-towners on what's happening around town.

Given that Elm Street, Route 150, Route 110 and the Derek Hines Bridge roadway will be closed to varying degrees at the same time, it will be tough to find your way around without satellite GPS navigation to guide you. The $20 million Hines Bridge project is slated to get started this spring and is expected to take two years to complete.

"There's not a lot of alternate routes, but you're going to have to find them," Desmarais said.

Kezer's Chief of Staff Kendra Amaral likens it to "ripping the Band-Aid" off to fix everything while you can, and said MassHighway has promised to take current road projects into account as it plans for work on the biggest project of them all — the rebuilding of the Interstate 95 John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge over the Merrimack River.

The Whittier is included in the state's accelerated bridge repair program, and a large renovation and widening project for the bridge is slated to begin in 2011.

The entire project will cost about $300 million and will entail removing and replacing the bridge over a period of four to six years. Plans call for the bridge to be widened from the current six lanes to eight, from exit 57 in Newburyport to just north of the Interstate 495 entrance ramp in Salisbury.

The construction will add a travel lane and breakdown shoulder in each direction — two elements currently missing due to the age of the bridge. Amaral said MassHighway has promised to take all local road projects into account as it performs its work on the bridge.

"I think there will be a very coordinated effort to make sure people get to where they need to," Amaral said.