Smithfield — Several times a week for the past 40 years, Tony Green has come to the Little Brown Jug’s cozy wooden bar to enjoy a beer and a smoke.

But Green’s late-afternoon ritual could come to an end under one plan to replace the U.S. 70 Business bridge into Smithfield.

If the bridge stays open during construction, the contractor will need the Little Brown Jug land as a staging area and will likely raze the building. That doesn’t sit well with Green and the bar’s many other regulars. “I don’t want to see it close,” Green said.

The state would pay for the Jug land and building, and the owners could open a bar elsewhere. But it wouldn’t be the same, patrons said.

The building that houses the Jug overlooks the Neuse River. Built by Ava Gardner’s brother in the early 1900s, it was a cabstand and gas station before becoming a bar in 1954. Several generations have frequented the Jug, which is popular among all ages of adults.

“It’s the charm of it all,” owner Jeanette Schultz said of the bar’s appeal. “It’s definitely nice to have that kind of history.”

But Schultz doubts the Jug can get a reprieve because of its history. The building has been modified over the years, so it’s not eligible for historic designation. Across the street, The Hut, now home to the Neuse Little Theatre, will be spared because of its historical status. Built during the Great Depression, it was a project of the Works Progress Administration, a program that put jobless Americans to work.

Schultz doesn’t agree with sacrificing the Jug to spare The Hut, a town-owned building. “More people have been here than have gone there,” she said.

In plans unveiled last month, the N.C. Department of Transportation offered an all-or-nothing approach to the Jug. If the bridge is closed for construction, the bar can stay. But if the bridge stays open while sections are replaced, the property will be needed for construction.

“If we keep it open, we’re going to start building toward the Little Jug,” said Ahmad Al-Sharawneh, a DOT engineer. “The Little Jug will go away.”

Schultz thinks some form of compromise would work. She suggested using some of The Hut’s property and land between the Jug’s front door and Market Street. She said she’s willing to lose the front entrance if it means the bar can stay open.

Green, the Jug regular, said he’d rather the bridge replacement not take place at all if it means the bridge or the bar has to close. He wants to see a weight limit banning trucks from using the bridge, which he figures could postpone the replacement project for 20 to 30 years.

The DOT wants to replace the bridge because of its age — the first half of it was built in the 1920s — but engineers noted that it remains perfectly safe.

Construction isn’t scheduled to begin until 2012, and Schultz is confident she can find a way to keep the Jug open. She already has the support of customers and the Downtown Smithfield Development Corp., though the downtown group supports keeping the bridge open during construction, fearing a loss of traffic could hurt businesses.

“It means a lot to the town,” Schultz said.