INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Mount Rose Highway above Sky Tavern Road will be closed from Saturday through Monday, Dec. 11-13, as the Nevada Department of Transportation performs emergency repairs to a highway drainage pipe, officials announced Thursday.

Beginning at 3 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, through 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, Mount Rose Highway (SR-431) will be closed between Sky Tavern Road and Slide Mountain Road as NDOT replaces a 24-inch drainage pipe underneath the highway.

Motorists will still be able to travel lower Mt. Rose Highway from Alternate U.S. 395 to Sky Tavern Road. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate highway routes if needing to travel between south Reno and north Lake Tahoe or area ski resorts.

NDOT routinely monitors highway drainages. Recent heavy rainstorms created severe roadside shoulder and culvert erosion at the drainage pipe located between Sky Tavern Road and Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe. The bottom of the drainage pipe was eroded and roadside shoulder erosion reached as deep as 10 feet.

Last weekend, NDOT reinforced and repaired the roadside shoulder and determined that the pipe is in need of emergency repair. This weekend, NDOT will excavate the highway surface and replace the eroded drainage pipe to ensure traveler safety and adequate stormwater drainage.

A full roadway closure is needed to most quickly and safely repair the drainage pipe for public safety before upcoming storms and winter travel season.

As many as 8,000 drivers travel the section of road every day.

The construction schedule is subject to change.