For the second straight weekend, a long stretch of I-35E in the northeast metro will be closed from Friday night to Monday morning.

This time around, the southbound lanes will be closed between the Forest Lake split where I-35E and I-35W meet in Columbus and I-694 in Little Canada. The 20-mile segment will close at 9 p.m. Friday and reopen at 5 a.m. Monday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.

Crews will be carrying out a pavement repair and repaving project, weather permitting.

Motorists will be detoured south on I-35W, then east on I-694 during the closure.

Last week, MnDOT tackled the northbound lanes along the same segment.

More than 84,000 vehicles use I-35E on the south end of the closure. That number drops in half on the north end of the closure, according to MnDOT traffic counts.

The forecast calls for a slight chance of showers Friday night, but mostly sunny conditions and highs in the 80s Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said.