Roadwork closing parts of three Twin Cities freeways will make for difficult weekend travel

This may be one of those weekends when you can’t easily get from here to there, as portions of three of the busiest freeways in the Twin Cities will be shut down.

Sections of Interstates 94, 494 and 35W will be closed from Friday night to Monday morning, putting even more stress on official detour routes that are already absorbing extra traffic due to other construction projects — including Cedar Avenue/Hwy. 77, Crosstown Hwy. 62 and Hwy. 36.

The closures also could make it harder to get to or from Twin Cities Pride events in Minneapolis.

“While anybody traveling in the affected 35 and 494 corridors this weekend may need to spend some extra time on the road, attendees can make the last part of their journey (getting downtown and parking) a little easier by using the resources on the TC Pride website,” said spokesman Kevin Hurd, in a statement. “I know TC Pride is looking forward to welcoming visitors who are eager for the annual festival’s return.”

I-494 through Bloomington and Richfield: Eastbound lanes between Hwy. 100 and I-35W, and westbound lanes between Cedar Avenue/Hwy. 77 and Hwy. 100, will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. Ramps along the corridor will start closing at 8 p.m.

In addition, the ramp from westbound I-494 to southbound I-35W closes Thursday morning and won’t reopen until October.

The freeway is being reconfigured so eastbound and westbound traffic will share one side of the freeway, much like I-94 in downtown Minneapolis. Westbound motorists will not be able to exit from I-494 at 35W, Penn or France avenues or at Hwy. 100.

I-94 in St. Paul: Eastbound lanes will be closed between Hwy. 280 and I-35E from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. Westbound lanes will remain open.

Crews will be taking down the westbound I-494 bridge over I-35W, necessitating the closure of both freeways. The bridge removal is part of a larger project that includes adding an E-ZPass lane on I-494 between I-35W and Hwy. 100, a new ramp at the I-35W/494 interchange and replacing bridges at 12th, Nicollet and Portland avenues.

In St. Paul, MnDOT is addressing structural cracks, improving bearings and repainting nine bridges crossing I-94 and I-35E.

In October, right after the Twin Cities Marathon, MnDOT will knock down the John Ireland Boulevard Bridge, which runs from the State Capitol to the Cathedral of St. Paul. The bridge will be replaced.

MnDOT spokesman Kevin Walker said the agency needs eight weekends to complete the bridge work at Jackson, Robert, Minnesota, Cedar, Wabasha, Marion and 10th streets, Western Avenue and the 5th Street ramp to I-94 in St. Paul.

He added it’s imperative that bridges get attention this year because MnDOT doesn’t want to close I-94 next year when Hwy. 280 is under construction.

“That project is going to be difficult because of the volume of vehicles that use it,” he said.

As for closing I-35W and I-494 at the same time, Walker said it seemed those freeways are far enough from the bridge work in St. Paul and Pride events downtown.

“The 494/35W closures have good detour routes that don’t take people too far out of the way,” Walker said. “It’s also a fair distance away from Pride.”

With I-94 still open but reduced to two lanes in each direction from I-35W to Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, the trio of closures on top of that could test drivers’ fortitude. Walker advised motorists to check MnDOT’s 511 maps online to plan their routes and allow extra time for reaching destinations.