The Story Bridge will close on Friday night and remain off-limits to all road traffic until Monday morning as council carries out "essential waterproofing works".

To help ease the burden on inner-city drivers, the Clem7 tunnel tolls will be waived during the closure and traffic will also be rerouted along the Captain Cook Bridge.

The Story Bridge carries about 100,000 vehicles across the Brisbane River daily, according to Brisbane City Council. Credit:Fairfax Media - Glenn Hunt

Lord mayor Graham Quirk said a partial closure was not possible due to the scale of work being undertaken and hoped the repairs would be completed in a single weekend, weather permitting.

“This (closure) is for very important works on the bridge, waterproofing components," he said.