The weekend should bring a reprieve for downtown Minneapolis and west-metro drivers after the chaos wrought by Interstate 394 lane closures this week.
Things will be tougher for train riders, however. Metro Transit will shut down portions of both light-rail lines for maintenance. Blue Line trains will be off the tracks between Target Field Station and Franklin Avenue, while the Green Line won't run between Target Field and Stadium Village from 7 p.m. Friday until 11:30 a.m. Saturday and again Sunday morning from 3 to 11:30 a.m. Buses will fill in on both lines.
Expect to see lots of extra traffic along Hwy. 65 in Blaine and on streets surrounding the National Sports Center, site of the Schwan's USA Cup soccer tournament. In St. Paul, Highland Fest and Rondo Days will generate extra traffic, too.
The State Patrol will crack down on speeding in the work zone on I-494 between Hwy. 55 and the Fish Lake intersection in response to a rash of rear-end and sideswipe crashes. The rules for work zones are simple: Obey the reduced speed limit, and nobody gets hurt. Don't, and pay a $300 fine.
Weekend roadwork
• The westbound lanes of I-394 are closed between I-94 and Hwy. 100. Westbound traffic is shifted onto the two reversible carpool lanes until late July. All eastbound traffic is sharing the general lanes. Dunwoody Boulevard/Hennepin Avenue between Lyndale Avenue and 17th Street will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. The Lyndale Avenue bridge over Dunwoody/Hennepin is closed through September.
• Hwy. 5, also known as W. 7th Street in St. Paul, is down to a single lane between Hwy. 55 /Fort Snelling and Shepard Road. At times traffic has been backed up for more than a mile, so prepare for delays if you are heading to the MSP Airport. The Edgcumbe Road bridge spanning Hwy 5/W. 7th Street is closed through early August.
• On I-494, two northbound lanes will be open and one southbound lane open Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Then MnDOT will slide the movable barrier over to create a second southbound lane to accommodate folks returning from out of town.
• Hwy. 100 in St. Louis Park is reduced to two lanes in each direction between Cedar Lake Road and Excelsior Blvd.