A busy section of Forest Avenue in Portland – between Marginal Way and Interstate 295 – will close to traffic at 10 p.m. Friday and won’t reopen to traffic until 7 a.m. Monday.

The city is closing the section of Forest Avenue as well as three of the I-295 exits at the location to allow construction crews to install new storm drains as part of a multi-year infrastructure plan.

City officials are advising residents to use alternate routes around the area and plan their trips accordingly.

The following I-295 exit- and entrance-ramps will be closed until Monday morning:

• I-295 North Exit 6A – inbound off-ramp.

• I-295 North Exit 6A – outbound Forest Avenue on-ramp.

• I-295 South Exit 6A – inbound off-ramp.

Crews are expected to work around-the-clock on the project through Monday.

“The city’s contractor will cross Forest Avenue with new storm drain infrastructure that will link the State Street storm drain to the new storm drain outfall recently installed at Back Cove,” the city said in a statement. “This work is part of the city’s ongoing effort to reduce combined sewer overflows into Back Cove. The city has chosen to fully close this section of roadway in order to minimize disruptions and have the work completed over the course of one weekend rather than a partial closure which would have lasted a month.”

Portland is in the midst of a decades-long construction plan to separate sewer and stormwater infrastructure in order to reduce the flow of untreated sewage and runoff into Back Cove and Casco Bay during heavy rainfall.

For more information, go to: www.portlandmaine.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2977