BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Expect delays on I-5 south of Bellingham as work begins to replace a fish culvert at Lake Creek this weekend.

WSDOT says travelers should expect lane and ramp closures near the North Lake Samish exit on southbound I-5 starting at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 29.

After that, traffic on southbound I-5 will temporarily switch to a two-lane bypass in the median starting at 5 a.m. Monday.

The bypass lanes will allow crews to begin removing the old culvert.

Once it’s removed, crews will install a larger culvert that’s more suitable for fish passage.

Traffic will return to normal once construction on the new culvert is finished in at some point in July, at which point crews will start working on the northbound culvert.

The work is part of a three-year project to remove 17 fish passage barriers along a six mile stretch of I-5 in Whatcom and Skagit counties.