Northbound MoPac will be completely closed during nighttime hours this week beginning tonight as the MoPac contractor starts work to restore the third northbound main lane over Lady Bird Lake that has been closed since February. The work was pushed up from this weekend because of anticipated inclement weather and in hopes of having the highway open for Austin's Trail of Lights event, which begins Dec. 10. “With the cold and rainy weather that’s now forecasted for the weekend it was looking pretty clear we weren’t going to be able to do the work this weekend, potentially pushing it back past Christmas,” said Steve Pustelnyk, director of community relations for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which is overseeing the MoPac Improvement Project to add one express, or toll, lane in each direction between Cesar Chavez Street and Parmer Lane. Starting tonight at 8 p.m., workers will completely shut down northbound MoPac between Lady Bird Lake and Enfield Road. Drivers will be forced to exit at Enfield Road, pass through the intersection and re-enter MoPac north of Enfield, Pustelnyk said. “We will have law enforcement on scene controlling that traffic signal so traffic is moving as smoothly as possible,” he said. Northbound MoPac will reopen the next morning by 5:30 or 6 a.m. Workers also will close all northbound MoPac lanes each night potentially through Friday to complete the preparation for reopening the third lane, Pustelnyk said. The closures will cause some travel delays for drivers in the early evening hours, he said. The entrance ramps to MoPac between Cesar Chavez and Sixth streets will also be closed, so Pustelnyk said drivers coming from downtown Austin may want to consider using an alternative route. “What we’re anticipating at this point is if everything goes as planned we would be looking at striping [for the lane] next week and then reopen the third lane,” he said. For more information visit www.mopacexpress.com.