As spring springs, so do orange cones. Several road projects start Monday

Spring has sprung and with that come the orange cones. The mild weather has allowed the Minnesota Department of Transportation to get an early start on road construction projects. A number of them begin on 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 t 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 begin 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 not been announced yet, MnDOT said.

Hwy. 5 near Ft. Snelling

It's back to a single lane in each direction for drivers using Hwy. 5/W. 7th Street in the area of Ft. Snelling. Traffic using the Mississippi River bridge will share the eastbound lanes while the westbound lanes are resurfaced.

Construction is expected to last until November and will include several ramp closures: Shepard Road to westbound Hwy. 5, southbound Edgecumbe Road ramp to westbound Hwy. 5, westbound Hwy. 55 ramp to eastbound Hwy. 5 and ramps from Hwy. 5 to both directions to Hwy. 55.

Additionally, two full closures of Hwy. 5 between Hwy. 55 and Davern Street and a 60-day closure of westbound Shepard Road/Mississippi Blvd. on tap. The dates have not been announced yet.

I-694 in Shoreview

Motorists in the northern suburb of Shoreview will find a new configuration on westbound I-694 between Rice Street and Lexington Avenue. Drivers 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.

MnDOT is adding a third lane between Rice and Lexington. Barriers will be set up diverting traffic to the edges of the freeway while a new lane is added in the middle. Here is a link to a video and story about how that will work.

I-94 at Maple Grove Pkwy.

MnDOT is making progress on extending Hwy. 610 through Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. The next phase means Maple Grove Pkwy. 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.

Here is what MnDOT says it will complete this year as part of this project:
• Construction of the new alignment of Highway 610 between existing Highway 610 and I-94
• 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 Highway 610 over Fernbrook Lane.

The new interchange of Maple Grove Parkway and new alignment of Highway 610 is expected to open by the end of October 2016.

Hennepin/Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis

the inside two lanes of Hennepin-Lyndale will close to traffic until later this summer, and drivers will use the outer lanes.

Hwy. 169 in Belle Plaine

Drivers can expect occasional short-term or daily lane closures on both directions of Hwy. 169 at Meridan Street due to bridge construction. This will last until June 30.