Beginning Monday, city officials will close part of the Great Highway for up to 10 days as crews begin the annual task of trying to keep sand from burying the oceanside road.

The project, which will see workers move 5,550 cubic yards of sand to the ocean from the side of the road, will shut the southbound lanes of the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, said Rachel Gordon, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Public Works.

“The aim is to reduce the likelihood of sand buildup on the Great Highway during windy weather,” Gordon said. Parts of the highway can close dozens of times every year — sometimes it’s for a few hours, other times it’s days — usually during the windiest portion of the year in March and April.

“We want to make sure it’s kept as safe as we can for bicyclists and motorists,” she said.

Crews planned their work to avoid disturbing the western snowy plover, a tiny white and tan shorebird protected by the Endangered Species Act. The work is done in coordination with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Gordon said.

The birds live on Ocean Beach for most of the year, but leave in late spring or early summer to go inland and to other coastal areas to nest. Monitors have told the department that the plovers have left the area, making it safe to do the work.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: haleaziz