Kenai residents and those passing through will experience some slower traffic on the Kenai Spur Highway near Walmart for the next 10 days.

Beginning Saturday morning, construction crews are starting work replacing an aging culvert that will shut down lanes of the highway. The Clarion previously reported that the culvert running under the highway near mile 9 across from the Walmart driveway is being replaced due to its age.

The culvert accommodates a creek that flows into the Kenai River.

“We’re going to basically take three lanes away,” said Ashley Smith, a traffic supervisor for Quality Asphalt Paving.

The excavators along the road working near the creek need a certain amount of space to move around, she explained.

Traffic will still flow in both directions, Smith said. The traffic light at the Walmart intersection will be turned off and workers with flags will direct the traffic turning out of the store, she said.

Work will be ongoing 24 hours a day for the duration of the 10-day project, Smith said.

Smith advised motorists to slow down when passing the construction and to be mindful of the flaggers and construction workers.

Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.