Construction starts Monday, Oct. 17 on Cedar Springs as Atmos Energy checks lines along the street. But if you’re going to be out and about this weekend and plan on going anywhere on I-635 — aka LBJ Freeway — between the toll road and I-35E, you might want to plan ahead to take an alternate route.

From 10 tonight through 5 a.m. Monday, according to the LBJ Express Project, there will be “major lane closures and traffic shifts” throughout that area:

• The Marsh Lane Bridge across I-635 will be partially demolished, which means that the bridge will be closed to ALL traffic (vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians) through the weekend.The bridge will re-open by 5 a.m. Monday but with reduced capacity, allowing only two lanes of traffic in each direction.

• Joe Ratcliff Pedestrian Walkway will be completely demolished. The rebuilt and reconfigured walkway won’t re-open until early 2012.

• I-635 itself will be reduced to only two lanes in each direction from Friday night through Monday morning between Valley View and Webbs Chapel. The lanes will also be significantly shifted, taking drivers from the highway, to the frontage roads and back again.

According to the email I received, “Drivers are strongly encouraged to take alternate routes between I-35E and the tollway through the weekend.”

I always prefer to “take an alternate route” if I can to avoid that stretch of road anyway, and luckily, I have no plans to be driving anywhere near there this weekend. But if have to, be prepared. It’s a trying drive at the best of times, and this weekend will be about as far away from “the best of times” as it can get!

You can a PDF of a map here that illustrates how the lane shifts work, and you can watch a video below showing drivers how to navigate this stretch of the LBJ Freeway this weekend.

You can also go here to sign up to get LBJ Express traffic and project updates by email.