KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Transportation will start work to replace two Interstate 29 bridges in the Northland this weekend.

MoDOT said beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, crews will close the two outside lanes of southbound I-29 at 72nd Street. One southbound lane will remain open for drivers.

This evening work will allow crews to set up a concrete barrier.

Then beginning Saturday, March 11 — and lasting until late April — crews will have one lane of I-29 closed in each direction at 72nd Street.

All lanes of I-29 will be open for the NFL Draft from April 27-29, according to MoDOT.

The twin bridges over 72nd Street are nearing the end of their “service lives,” MoDOT said, which is why they need to be replaced.

Along with the bridge work, MoDOT is also planning some improvements along 72nd Street to improve traffic flow at the interchange. MoDOT said it intends for 72nd Street closures to be as short as possible in the summer, when school isn’t in session.

The agency plans to have all construction at I-29 and 72nd Street finished by the end of 2023. The project is slated to cost $6.9 million, made up of both state and federal funds.