Five months of motoring misery on I-94 in Minneapolis to end with final weekend closure

Both directions of Interstate 94 in downtown Minneapolis will close one last time this weekend — but there is a silver lining.

Come Monday, motorists should have all their driving lanes back, ending five months of commuter gridlock.

Drivers using the corridor have felt the pinch since April as I-94 has been restricted to two lanes in each direction while the Minnesota Department of Transportation repaired the bridge over the Mississippi River and four others. The configuration has led to significant backups, even outside of normal rush-hour periods.

From 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, MnDOT will shut down the eastbound lanes of I-94 between Interstate 35W and Hwy. 280. Entrance and exit ramps along the 6-mile segment will start closing at 9 p.m. Friday.

All westbound lanes between I-35E and I-35W will be closed at the same time.

Over the weekend, crews will remove concrete barriers and orange cones from the bridge over the Mississippi River and return one of the state’s most-traveled freeways to its normal state of three to four lanes available to drivers.

When the $16 million project started, MnDOT had pledged to have the freeway back to full capacity ahead of the State Fair, which opens Aug. 21.

This weekend’s activity is weather dependent and could be affected by rainy weather, MnDOT said.

A front will stall out over Minnesota during the weekend, which could lead to several rounds of heavy rain. A few storms could also be strong to severe, the National Weather Service said.

The entire Mississippi River bridge project won’t totally be done. After Labor Day, MnDOT will get back out there to finish removing crossovers that carried traffic from one side of the freeway to the other, temporary signs and lighting.

Next spring, MnDOT will apply deck sealing on the five bridges, meaning drivers may run into temporary lane closures, the agency said.