INDIANAPOLIS — Starting Tuesday evening, drivers will have to find a new route if they are needing to travel near downtown Indianapolis.

Crews with the Indiana Department of Transportation will close I-65 southbound between West Street and Alabama Street starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. This portion of I-65 will be closed for around 16 days for bridge deck patching and joint repairs.

This is three days before INDOT was initially expected to start the closure. However, the initial dates would have overlapped with the three Indianapolis dates on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 1-3.

With the closure’s current schedule, the work is expected to end before the start of November, according to previous reports. However, the closure is expected to impact travelers to downtown Indianapolis for other events, including an Indianapolis Colts home game on Sunday as well as the National Future Farms of America conference from Oct. 23-26.

According to INDOT, lane restrictions on I-65 southbound will begin at 29th Street and continue until the road is closed. Traffic will be required to exit I-65 southbound at West Street.

Entrance ramps set to be closed starting Oct. 15 include:

• 38th Street eastbound to I-65 southbound
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street southbound to I-65 southbound
• 29th Street eastbound and 30th Street westbound to I-65 southbound
• 21st Street eastbound and westbound to I-65 southbound
• West Street northbound to I-65 southbound

Exit ramps scheduled to be closed as part of the project include:

• I-65 southbound to Meridian Street
• I-65 southbound to Michigan Street, Ohio Street, and Fletcher Avenue
• I-65 southbound to I-70 eastbound and westbound