Orange cones are coming, beginning Monday

The generally mild early spring has allowed the Minnesota Department of Transportation to get an early start on road construction projects. A number of them begin Monday.

• Hwy. 100 through Edina and St. Louis Park: Work on a pavement rehabilitation and resurfacing project that started last summer resumes. On Monday, the ramp from 50th Street to northbound Hwy. 100 will close until August.

Drivers will feel the real impact of this project when both directions of the highway between W. 36th Street in St. Louis Park to Benton Avenue in Edina are reduced to two lanes. Work on the northbound lanes begins late April 10, and work on the southbound lanes begins April 13. That configuration will be in place through mid-July, MnDOT says.

In addition, there will be eight weekend closures over the summer, but those dates have yet to be announced, MnDOT said.

• Hwy. 5 near Fort Snelling: It's back to a single lane in each direction for drivers using Hwy. 5/W. 7th Street in the area of Fort Snelling. Traffic using the Mississippi River bridge will share the eastbound lanes while the westbound lanes are resurfaced. This project caused big backups on W. 7th last summer. Construction is expected to last until November and will include several ramp closures: Shepard Road to westbound Hwy. 5, southbound Edgcumbe Road ramp to westbound Hwy. 5, westbound Hwy. 55 ramp to eastbound Hwy. 5 and ramps from Hwy. 5 to both directions of Hwy. 55. MnDOT also promises two full closures of Hwy. 5 between Hwy. 55 and Davern Street and a 60-day closure of westbound Shepard Road/Mississippi Boulevard. Dates for those have yet to be announced.

• I-694 in Shoreview: MnDOT is adding a third lane between Rice and Lexington, but the pain comes first. Westbound traffic will be forced to pick a lane that will give them access to on and off ramps or one that does not. The left lane will be the through lane.

• I-94 at Maple Grove Parkway: MnDOT is making progress on extending Hwy. 610 through Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. The next phase means Maple Grove Parkway will be closed between County Road 81 and 99th Avenue N. Traffic will be detoured by way of County Road 81, Fernbrook Lane N. and 99th Avenue, MnDOT said. Completed this year as part of this project:

• Construction of the ramps from westbound Hwy. 610 to westbound I-94 and the ramp and bridge from eastbound I-94 to eastbound Hwy. 610.

• Completion of tunnels over the BNSF railroad tracks alongside County Road 81 and a bridge to carry the new alignment of Hwy. 610 over Fernbrook Lane.

The new interchange of Maple Grove Parkway and new alignment of Hwy. 610 is expected to open by the end of October.

• Hwy. 169 in Belle Plaine: Drivers can expect occasional short-term or daily lane closures in both directions of Hwy. 169 at Meridian Street due to bridge construction. This will last until June 30.