Drivers heading through downtown Tampa this weekend should brace for major delays. Northbound I-275 will be closed at I-4, and southbound I-275 will be reduced to just one lane from midnight Friday night until 5 a.m. Monday morning. This is part of the ongoing Downtown Interchange project. Crews with the Florida Department of Transportation will use the closure to install massive girders for a new exit ramp connecting southbound I-275 directly to eastbound I-4. FDOT project manager Andrew Williams said the work requires specialized equipment. “Southbound 275 is going to be closed because we actually need to set up the crane in that location,” Williams said. “It’s the best position for us to pick up these massive girders. And we’re using two different cranes for this step.” Officials say this specific timeframe was carefully selected to avoid conflicts. “This weekend was chosen as the most minimally invasive weekend that we could find,” FDOT engineer Austin Petersen said. “No home Bucs games, limited events in the area.” He added that condensing the work into a single weekend will reduce the number of nightly closures in the future. Still, drivers who use the corridor daily expect plenty of frustration. “It’s still gonna be busy, you know what I mean?” commuter Paul Ayers said. “They just need to get it done so we can move on and have bigger roadways.” Commuter Courtney Olivera called the closure “shocking,” adding that “any type of congestion area is always going to cause issues, especially when you don’t know about it.” Olivera said she hadn’t seen much publicity about it. “I haven’t seen anything — nothing on social media. The mayor hasn’t put out anything,” she said. FDOT insists it has taken steps to keep drivers informed. Petersen said the agency has coordinated with Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze so GPS apps can reroute drivers. He said overhead message boards and posted detour signs are also in place. Williams acknowledged the inconvenience but warned drivers to be ready. “We do expect to see a lot of congestion, definitely a lot more than you would typically see on a Saturday or Sunday,” he said. Petersen added: “We appreciate any patience. We’re doing our best to minimize impacts to the public.” The current I-275 ramp to I-4 will remain in place but will eventually be repurposed as a direct connector to Ybor City, which could help with game day traffic if a new Rays stadium is built there. The full closures are expected to lift by 5 a.m. Monday, just in time for the morning commute.