Most lanes of Colorado Boulevard next to City Park will be closed over the weekend for a stormwater improvement project, the Department of Transportation announced.

The closure will begin at 9 p.m. Friday and last until 5 a.m. Monday. During this time, all southbound lanes and some northbound lanes of Colorado Boulevard will be closed between Montview Boulevard and East 16th Avenue.

Message boards will be placed along the corridor over the weekend to direct drivers to use East 23rd Avenue as a detour.

This project intends to build a bigger and better stormwater management system in east Denver to prevent flooding by carrying stormwater away from the area, the announcement said.

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The project started with the installation of a bigger stormwater pipe south of City Park, along East 17th Avenue. This pipe will later be extended under Colorado Boulevard, after crews move existing pipes and utilities out of the way.

This weekend’s closure of Colorado Boulevard will be the first of several as crews continue this work, the announcement said.

The boulevard’s next weekend closure is scheduled for Oct. 8-11.

Eventually, the city intends to extend the stormwater to other common flood areas within the Montclair basin, Denver’s largest basin without a natural waterway, including 14th Avenue and Krameria Street.