Today marks the official start of the much-awaited Hwy. 610 extension project through Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove.

Dignitaries from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and officials from local cities kicked off the project with a groundbreaking at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The $80 million project funded through the state's Corridors of Commerce program will extend Hwy. 610 from its current terminus at Elm Creek Blvd. and County Road 81 west to I-94.

This fall, MnDOT plans to clear the ground and demolish buildings. Most of the work will take place during the 2015 and 2016 construction seasons. The project includes building a bridge over Fernbrook Lane and an interchange at Maple Grove Pkwy.

A half-mile segment of 101st Avenue N. between I-94 and Fernbrook Lane will be removed while 105th Avenue will be extended west from Holly Lane across I-94 to a new intersection with 101st Avenue.

The southeast corner of Minnesota Highways 610 and 169 is being transformed into the new Northcross Business Park, one of the businesses that have popped up as part of the Corridors of Commerce project. (Bre McGee/Special to the Star Tribune)