A stretch of road in the Southtowns will soon be a lot safer.

A new seawall will be built along Lake Erie in Athol Springs.

Right now, the lake often splashes over the wall and onto Route 5, creating a treacherous sheet of ice in the winter.  

But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Transportation agreed on a contract for a new wall, with the federal government is paying the $6 million bill.

Previously, the plan called for 65 percent federal funding and 35 percent from the state.

Now that the deal is hashed out, it's time to get moving on the project.

"There's a deteriorating seawall there, so we're going to demo the existing seawall and build in a structure of rocks...that will dissipate the wave energy and keep the waves from splashing onto the highway, that will not only protect the highway itself but also the drivers on the highway," said Lt. Col. Jason Toth with the Buffalo district commander with the Army Corps.

Work on the new seawall could get underway by early fall of this year or late spring of next year.