This weekend, Blue Line riders will need to pay extra attention to announcements and signs as some stations along light-rail line will be closed at various times and service between other suspended.

Chalk it up to a weekend of track maintenance and construction work.

Passengers will be able to complete their trips as buses will fill in at times when trains skip stations or are not running at all, Metro Transit said.

Buses will run on a similar schedule as trains, but transit officials warn that trips are likely to take longer. Maps of each station and location of bus pickups can be found here.

Crews will be replacing the deteriorating pavers at the 50th Street, VA Medical Center and Fort Snelling platforms with poured concrete. You can expect more of that in the future until each platform has been reconstructed, said Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr.

The weekend work also will include making repairs to the rail itself and cleaning the rail right of way, Kerr said.

Here is the skinny:

On Friday from 7 p.m. to midnight, rail service will run as normal along the line from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America. Trains will not stop at the 50th Street Station or at the VA Medical Center. Riders needing to begin or end their trips at either station can board replacement buses at either the 46th Street Station or at Fort Snelling.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, Blue Line service will not be available between the Franklin Avenue Station and Terminal 2-Humphrey. Buses will fill in the gap. Trains will run between Target Field and Franklin and the Humphrey stop at the MSP Airport and the Mall of America. Trains will shuttle passengers between airport stops as well.

Passengers needing to get from the airport to downtown Minneapolis will take a Blue Line train to Humphrey-Terminal 2, and catch a bus from there.

From 3 a.m. Sunday to 3 a.m. Monday, trains will run from downtown Minneapolis to the 46th Street Station and from the airport stations to the Mall of America. Buses will fill in between 46th Street and Terminal 2.