KDOT plans alternate closures this weekend of eastbound, westbound I-70 in downtown Topeka

A pavement patching project will cause eastbound Interstate 70 to close Saturday and westbound I-70 to close Sunday, both between S.W. Topeka Boulevard and S.E. 8th Street, weather permitting, the Kansas Department of Transportation said Monday.

Both closures will start at 5 a.m. and continue until patching is finished later in the day in the lanes involved, at which point those lanes will reopen, said Kate Craft, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Workers will also install striping and signage, which is expected to remain in place until the Polk-Quincy Viaduct is replaced, she said.

Saturday's and Sunday's work is part of an ongoing project to keep the viaduct viable until work begins in early 2025 to actually replace it.

More:An I-70 detour through downtown Topeka will increase traffic congestion for about three weeks

Here's where the detours will go

Drivers using I-70 will be offered highway detours that will include bypassing the area involved to its north by using US-24 highway or to its south using the Kansas Turnpike and Interstate 470

Meanwhile, Craft said, KDOT and the city of Topeka will offer local street detours through which:

• Westbound drivers will exit I-70 at S.E. 8th and Madison, take Madison north to S.E. 6th, then go west to S.W. Topeka Boulevard and north to I-70.

• Eastbound drivers will exit I-70 at S.W. 1st Street, take S.W. Topeka Boulevard south, take S.E. 6th Street east, then go south on S.E. Monroe to the S.E. 8th Street I-70 on-ramp.

Craft warned that temporary changes to the eastbound local detour will occur at some point Saturday morning, and asked drivers to please follow the marked routes.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Temporary closures of I-70 planned Saturday and Sunday in Topeka