CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Traffic in Charlotte seems to be never-ending, and lane closures around the city aren't helping with the congestion.

• The current lane closures have drivers merging from three lanes down to one lane on the I-277 Inner Loop just before the South Boulevard and Caldwell Street exit.
• The NCDOT says they will suspend lane closures during All-Star weekend if the work on that section is not completed.
• Lane closures on I-277 will be suspended starting Friday, February 15 and will resume Monday after All-Star Weekend.

The back-ups on major roadways are causing some concern as the city prepares for more than 150,000 visitors for the NBA All-Star Game next weekend.

The current lane closures have drivers merging from three lanes down to one lane on the I-277 Inner Loop just before the South Boulevard and Caldwell Street exit.

This is part of an ongoing project that started more than a year ago to work on 22 bridges around the city.

The focus now is on the area near Morehead Street, Mint Street, and the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks.

The NCDOT says they will suspend lane closures during All-Star weekend if the work on that section is not completed.

Jen Thompson with NCDOT says while the lane closures may be a headache, it's being done to try and speed up work to finish the project as soon as possible.

"It’s very time consuming to try to take the barrier wall up each night, and if that were to take place each night and every morning, that leaves hardly any window for them to actually do any work," Thompson said. "So if that were to happen, it would probably be a much longer work period, and it would cause even more problems down the line for motorists. So putting it in this way will hopefully shorten that time frame."

Thompson says the lane closures on I-277 will be suspended starting Friday, February 15 and will resume Monday after All-Star Weekend.