Traffic delays in the metro have been as bad as expected this weekend, with cars backed up behind major closures on Interstates 94 and 35W.
Getting to downtown Minneapolis was a chore Saturday as closures slowed traffic on I-94 east across the river into St. Paul. The interchange where Lyndale Avenue, Hennepin Avenue and I-94 meet just southwest of downtown was a tangle of bumper-to-bumper lines of traffic.
Kent Barnard, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said speeds were 5 mph in the Lowry Hill Tunnel.
"It's been slow throughout the system," Barnard said. "People are out playing and enjoying the good weather and there's a lot more traffic today, especially around the construction zones."
As the Twins hosted the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, Franklin Avenue and other side streets backed up thanks to several closures that started at 10 p.m. Friday and could run until 5 a.m. Monday.
The freeways were closed as part of MnDOT's work on the Park and Portland Avenue bridges. They will be closed until August.
Other projects to keep in mind as you're driving this weekend:
• I-35E in Burnsville is closed from County Road 42 to the I-35E/W split for bridge work.
