Weekend traffic: Festivals close roads, light rail gets partial shutdown

Construction on mainline routes rolls on but the biggest snags may be on local streets leading to parties, festivals and sporting events across the Twin Cities.

The weather should cooperate for the Pizza Luce Block Party, which will bring a daylong closure Saturday on 4th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Other celebrations, some with road closures, include the Twin Cities Polish Festival in northeast Minneapolis, the Minnesota Irish Fair on Harriet Island in St. Paul and the grand reopening of the State Capitol.

Parkways around Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Park will shut down Sunday morning for the YWCA Women’s Triathlon. The Saints are home Friday through Sunday at CHS Field.

Light rail riders take note: Buses will replace Blue Line trains from Franklin Avenue to Target Field Station and Green Line trains from Raymond Avenue to Target Field Station from 3 a.m. Sunday until 3 a.m. Monday.

Interstate 94 in Minneapolis and St. Paul
1. I-94 from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center: All vehicles over 9,000 pounds are prohibited from the Lowry Hill Tunnel. The freeway is reduced to two lanes in each direction on the westbound side of the tunnel. One lane on the eastbound side of the tunnel is open for traffic coming off eastbound I-394 until Monday. Ramps from east I-94 to south I-35W, north I-35W to west I-94 west, Hwy. 55 to east I-94 and 49th Avenue to east I-94.

2. I-94 from St. Paul to Maplewood: Eastbound has one lane set aside for through traffic while one lane is for drivers who want to access local streets. Lane and restrictions and ramp closures between Century Avenue and Mounds Boulevard.

Minneapolis
3. Cedar and Portland avenues: Closed between 28th and Lake streets.

4. 3rd Avenue S.: Lane restrictions between S. 1st and 2nd streets; S. 1st Street closed from 3rd Avenue S. to 2nd Avenue S.

East Metro

5. Hwy. 51/Snelling Avenue in Falcon Heights: Single lane in each direction between Como Avenue and Hwy. 36.

6. I-35E in St. Paul: Lane restrictions in the vicinity of Shepard Road.

7. Hwy. 110 in Mendota Heights: Westbound lanes closed between I-494 and I-35E through early fall.

8. Hwy. 95 in Afton: Southbound lanes between 15th and 21st streets.

9. Hwy. 61 in Cottage Grove: The County Road 19/Innovation Road overpass is closed.

North Metro

10. Eastbound 694 in Shoreview: Restricted to two lanes separated by a concrete barrier between Hwy. 10 and I-35E. The inside lane carries through traffic and drivers must continue east on I-694. The outside/right lane allows access to local streets and drivers must continue south on I-35E. Westbound traffic is down to two lanes.

11. I-35W at Hwy. 10 in Arden Hills: Ramps from west Hwy. 10 to north I-35W and north I-35W to County Road I are closed.

West Metro
12. Hwy. 169 in Edina and St. Louis Park: Closed between Bren Road and Lincoln Drive/5th Street and single lane between I-394 and Excelsior Boulevard. The ramp from west I-394 to south Hwy. 169 is closed.

13. I-494 at Hwy. 212 in Eden Prairie: Entrance and exit ramps at the interchange closed daily from 7 a.m. to 6 a.m. through Sunday.

South Metro
14. 66th Street in Richfield: Closed to through traffic between Girard and Xerxes avenues S.

15. 86th Street in Bloomington: The overpass at I-35W is closed.

16. Hwy. 13 in Burnsville and Savage: Lane closures between Hwy. 169 and Washburn Avenue.

17. Hwy. 55 in Inver Grove Heights: Lane restrictions in the vicinity of Argenta Trail.

18. Hwy. 3 in Castle Rock: The highway is closed at County Road 86.