To help motorists get into downtown St. Paul, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will open a temporary ramp from southbound I-35E to 12th Street. The ramp is scheduled to open after 8 a.m. Friday.

The temporary exit replaces the ramp to University Avenue, which is closed due to nearby construction.

The ramp to University Avenue is expected to reopen sometime this summer. When it does the temporary ramp to 12th Street will close.

The work is part of the I-35E Cayuga project, which aims to reconstruct I-35E between University Avenue and Maryland Avenue, including replacement of the Cayuga Bridge, the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge and the railroad bridges along I-35E.