A major interstate closure downtown will affect your weekend plans in Nashville starting Friday night.

Expect heavy delays as many drivers will need to find different routes to get where they’re going.

All of Interstate 24, known as the east loop, downtown will shut down this weekend from I-65 to I-40 as crews work to repair two bridges.

This is the first of two weekends the Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to shut down the interstate for repairs.

From Friday, Aug. 2 at 9 p.m. through Monday, Aug. 5 at 5 a.m. crews will work on the Woodland Street and Main Street bridges.

Drivers will need to use the west loop to move around downtown as an alternative route.

If you live in East Nashville and need to get to the interstate, use Ellington Parkway to head north and Shelby Avenue into town to get to I-40 on the south side.

Shelby Avenue, Main Street, Woodland Street and Spring Street will remain open. Those are good routes to use to cross the Cumberland River while the project shuts down the interstate.

This is part of a larger $1.5 million bridge repair project that also includes the Silliman Evans bridge. Work for that will shut down the road again in the fall.