BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A three-year project to remove fish barriers along I-5 in Whatcom and Skagit counties will start to impact traffic this week.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) says crews will begin overnight work on I-5 south of Bellingham at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.

Drivers should expect single-lane closures on both directions of the highway between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Sunday nights through Friday mornings until early June. After that, there will be temporary two-lane bypass roads to guide both directions of I-5 traffic around the work zone during the summer.

A federal court injunction in 2013 ordered the state to remove culverts under its roads that block salmon, bull trout and steelhead habitats.

WSDOT’s project will remove 17 of those barriers and replace them with 10 new structures along I-5 between Burlington and Bellingham.

Construction is expected to last through 2027.