Starting in late January or early February, no vehicle or semitrailer truck longer than 35 feet will be allowed to use the Lafayette Bridge in St. Paul.
That's when traffic on northbound Hwy. 52 will be shifted to a crossover ramp that MnDOT is building to connect the current bridge to the new bridge that the agency is building over the Mississippi River to replace the current structure that was deemed structurally deficient.
Officials from the Minnesota Department of Transportation will give updates on the project during an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Neighborhood House, 179 E. Robie St., St. Paul.
Since the project began, there have been several traffic changes in the area. Here are a few:
The northbound Hwy 52 loop-ramp to westbound I-94 in St. Paul is open.
There is no longer access to northbound Hwy 52 at Plato Blvd.
Permanently closed:
- Eastbound East 7th Street ramp to westbound I-94.
- 5th Street: Closed east of Johns Street and no longer exists as a street.
- 4th Street: Closed to vehicles. Bicyclists have access to Bruce Vento trail by way of 4th Street.
- Kittson Street north of 7th street no longer exists. It will be the new northbound Hwy 52 to 7th Street Exit.
Kittson Street south of the Downtowner and Holiday Station no longer exists.
The existing bridge will be demolished in 2014, when work will begin on the southbound span. The $130 million project is expected to be finished in 2015.
