Inclement weather won't stop the Minnesota Department of Transportation from carrying out bridge-demolition projects that will bring closures to parts of two heavily used metro-area highways this weekend.
Motorists will encounter detours on the Crosstown in the south metro and on Interstate 694 in the north metro.
For crews on the job, "the cold won't bother them," said MnDOT spokesman Kent Barnard. "The snow won't either."
MnDOT did decide to postpone work it had planned for I-94 in Woodbury because of the weather.
The projects could bother motorists heading to the Minnesota United's home opener Saturday at Allianz Field in St. Paul or with plans to catch one of the Twins' games against Detroit at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Crosstown Hwy. 62 in Edina and Richfield will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday between Interstate 35W and Hwy. 100 while crews take down the France Avenue overpass. Motorists will be routed onto Interstate 494 via Hwy. 100 and I-35W. France Avenue will be closed between 62nd and 66th Streets for several months. Drivers can use Xerxes Avenue or Valley View Road as alternate routes to reach destinations such as Fairview Southdale Hospital and Southdale Center.
In Shoreview and Little Canada, a portion of the Rice Street bridge over I-694 will be torn down. Both directions of I-694 will be closed between Victoria Street and I-35E from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. Motorists will be detoured via I-35W, Hwy. 36 and I-35E. Drivers on Rice Street will find lane restrictions in the area.
Construction zones on I-35W over the Minnesota River in Bloomington, in Minneapolis and between Roseville and Blaine could also slow traffic.
