Rebuilding of Vicksburg Lane in Plymouth will put commuters, Route 776 buses on detour

West metro commuters who are using or might be thinking of using Vicksburg Lane as an alternate route to escape the construction-related backups on I-494 will have to come up with another plan starting Wednesday.

MnDOT is adding a third lane to I-494 between Hwy. 55 and Bass Lake Road, and for the summer that means major traffic backups as drivers have only one or two lanes to use depending on the time of day and direction of travel.

The City of Plymouth will begin reconstructing Vicksburg between Old Rockford Road and Schmidt Lake Road starting Wednesday. While residential areas will be accessible, through traffic will be routed over to Fernbrook Lane by way of Schmidt Lake Road and Rockford Road.

Next year, Vicksburg Lane will be rebuilt north of Schmidt Lake Road to the Maple Grove border.

Vicksburg Lane is being reconstructed as a four-lane roadway from Old Rockford Road to the Maple Grove border. Construction also includes installation of trails or sidewalks on both sides of the street and grading and restoration to the impacted areas.

As a note to Plymouth Metrolink Route 776 riders, the city says trips will continue as scheduled, but riders could see trips running up to five minutes late due to the detour route. Passengers who get on between Old Rockford Road and Rockford Road will need to board on Vicksburg Lane south of Rockford Road,

To the south, a mill and overlay project on Vicksburg Lane will bring lane closures at times between County Road 6 and Gleason Lake Drive.

In connection with that project here is what is happening at County Road 47 and Lawndale: County Road 47 from Lawndale to about 300 feet west of Lawndale Lane will be completely closed so crews can begin constructing the new intersection. All southbound Lawndale Lane traffic will be forced to turn left (east) at County Road 47. Work will initially focus on the west half of Lawndale Lane and the western portion of County Road 47. Near the end of May, Lawndale Lane traffic will be switched to the new road on the west half, and the west leg of County Road 47 will be opened. Once the traffic switch is made, County Road 47 from Lawndale Lane to about 300 feet east of Lawndale will be completely closed. Southbound Lawndale Lane traffic will be forced to turn right (west) at County Road 47.

Another project expected to be complete this summer is the extension of Cheshire Parkway. The road currently terminates at the north end of the Reserve residential community, but by mid-summer will be open to County Road 47 near the Trillium Woods senior living. That will give Plymouth another north-south route over the Canadian Pacific Railroad line.

Several neighborhoods also will see streets repaved this summer. According to the city's website, streets in the following areas will be done first: Lake Camelot, Camelot Overlook, Bass Lake Hills, Bass Lake Terrace, Bass Lake Heights, Bass Lake Woods, Windridge at Bass Lake, Harrison Hills, Ponds North, Zachary Hills, Glen Grove Acres and adjacent neighborhoods.