Summertime and the driving won't be easy for residents of Fridley and Spring Lake Park or for commuters who use Hwy. 65 to pass through the two northern suburbs.

Starting Wednesday, the southbound lanes between 81st St. Avenue NE. and Medtronic Pkwy. will be closed and motorists put on a detour. Starting in early July, the closure will be extended up to the Hwy. 10 interchange.

Northbound lanes will remain open until mid-August when work on the southbound lanes is expected to be complete. At that time, northbound lanes will close.

During the closure, the primary detour will take through traffic east on Hwy. 10 to southbound 35W to westbound 694. Others may opt to use westbound Hwy. 10 to westbound Hwy. 610 to southbound Hwy. 252 to 694.

Business access will be retained as much as possible, and motorists who need to get to them will be directed to Old Central Avenue, also marked at County Road 35.

For those who need to cross Hwy. 65, intersections at 81st Avenue, Osborne Road, 73rd Avenue, Mississippi Street and Moore Lake Drive will be open periodically to allow business access.

From mid-August to mid-October, work will shift to the northbound lanes, which will be closed.

The $9.3 million project includes resurfacing the highway, improvements to bus stops, new pedestrian crossings to meet modern accessibility standards, upgraded guardrails and repairs to drainage structures.