It's finally done. The state's four-year, $239 million reconstruction of Interstate 35W in south Minneapolis was pronounced finished Friday by Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher.
Speaking at a press gathering within earshot of the fully opened freeway, Kelliher was joined by numerous politicians, including Gov. Tim Walz, who joked that he was happy to see the project completed within his lifetime.
"I never thought this day would happen," said Metropolitan Council Member Robert Lilligren, who said he lived adjacent to I-35W for 36 years and saw firsthand the freeway's deterioration.
Starting in August 2017, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) project moved forward in five stages as it closed bridges, shut down portions of the freeway for months at a time, shifted traffic patterns and disrupted life at what's known as the state's busiest intersection, where I-35W and Interstate 94 meet.
The completed work includes 2.5 miles of rebuilt freeway from I-94 to E. 43rd Street; repairs of multiple bridges; the replacement of aging bridges at E. 24th, 26th, 38th, and 40th streets and Franklin Avenue; new connections between I-35W and Lake Street; a new "flyover" bridge for drivers traveling from I-35W north to westbound I-94, and a host of improvements for walking, biking and transit.
The work was overseen by Ames Construction of Burnsville, with Lunda Construction Co. and Shafer Contracting Co. rounding out the work crews.
A two-story Metro Transit station at Lake Street and I-35W will open by Dec. 4, when the new Orange Line connecting Burnsville to downtown Minneapolis launches.
The station will help people get to their buses more easily, said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who recounted his mother-in-law's experience using a dilapidated stairway to reach her bus stop. Now that the stairs have been redone and walkways, bike paths and ramps have made new connections possible, he said, all forms of transit will improve.
