COVINGTON, Ky. — There's a big traffic pattern change coming Friday, July 23 on I-17/75.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) announced crews will work through the weekend to establish the new travel pattern. KYTC says drivers should expect significant delays and try to find alternative routes.

 “Beginning Friday night, and continuing until early Sunday morning, travel will be reduced to one lane northbound and access to I-75 and I-71 will be impacted,” said KYTC District 6 branch manager Cory Wilson. Wilson added in the statement to Spectrum News 1, “Once the work this weekend is completed, the new travel pattern will be in place and changing lanes on the bridge will not be possible. Traffic in the far left lane will proceed to I-75 and traffic in the far right lane will proceed to I-71. The two center lanes on I-71/75 northbound across the bridge will be closed.” 

Here are the planned traffic pattern changes:

• Weather permitting, beginning at 10 p.m., Friday, July 23, travel on I-71/75 northbound will be reduced to one lane.
• Also at 10 p.m., Friday, access to I-75 northbound from the Brent Spence Bridge will be CLOSED. Access to I-75 northbound from the bridge is expected to be closed for several hours. 
• Once the setup work on the Western side of the bridge is completed, crews will reopen access to I-75 northbound and then access to I-71 northbound will be CLOSED. Access to I-71 northbound is expected to be closed until 5 a.m., Sunday morning. 
• In addition, overnight Friday, from approximately 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., there will be rolling roadblocks on I-71/75 northbound. Law enforcement will be in place just south of the bridge in Kentucky and will hold traffic in 15-minute increments to allow crews to safely set the next traffic pattern on the bridge.

By 5 a.m., Sunday morning, two lanes of travel will be restored, and the following traffic pattern will be in place:

• The far left lane on I-71/75 northbound will be open for drivers to access I-75 northbound in Ohio.
• The far-right lane on I-71/75 northbound will be open for drivers to access I-71 northbound in Ohio. 
• The two center lanes will be CLOSED. Changing lanes on the bridge will not be possible. If you are in the left lane, you will proceed to I-75; if you are in the right lane, you will proceed to I-71. 

This traffic pattern is expected to remain in place through Sunday, Aug. 29, weather permitting. 

KYTC says there are no plans for the southbound travel lanes. 

According to the KYTC, the crews are making progress on the project.

“We are more than 50% complete with the maintenance project on the bridge,” said Bob Yeager, Chief District Engineer of KYTC’s District 6 office. “This is a routine project that is part of the normal life cycle of a major structure like the Brent Spence Bridge. Just as you have to perform regular maintenance on your personal property like your car and your home so it stays in good working order, we have to perform regular maintenance on our public infrastructure to ensure it remains safe for long-term use.”

The project is expected to be completed by Nov. 15, 2021, weather permitting.

Amber Smith contributed the video portion of this story.