Heavy equipment lines the massive Highway 27 rebuilding project just north of downtown.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has announced a shift in traffic will be carried out on U.S. 27 south beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

A news release said the shift to move traffic to newly constructed southbound traffic lanes will extend until 7 a.m. Saturday.

As the shift is carried out, the southbound Manufacturer's Road ramps will require periodic and possibly extended closings during the night to prepare for the new pattern.

Once completed, traffic will shift from the previously closed Whitehall Road slip ramp to the Manning Street Bridge.

The new southbound entrance and exit ramps at Manufacturer's Road will also be opened with a new traffic signal functioning, the release said.

Should bad weather keep this shift from occurring at the scheduled time, then it will be set up to be carried out as soon as possible, according to the release.

This work is being carried out as efforts continue to reconstruct U.S. Highway 27 from the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River to Signal Mountain Road.

Wright Brothers Construction Co. is the contractor for the $104 million project that has an estimated completing date of Dec. 21, 2014.