Starting today, a stretch of West Barton County Road will be reduced from four lanes to two as crews begin to bury a concrete pipe beneath it. The work is part of a nine-month, $6 million project to improve the flow of water from the Arkansas River to Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area.Torn out will be a 35-foot swath of the road four miles west of Great Bend, said Dan Voegeli with Wildcat Construction, the Wichita firm handling the massive effort. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction for the two to three weeks it will take to complete the work.However, the overall project, being done for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, started in January.