Getting to and from downtown St. Paul this weekend from the north or south will pose a challenge with the ­closing of two major roads.

Both directions of Interstate 35E were closed between I-94 in St. Paul and Hwy. 36 in Little Canada starting Friday night, with reopening expected by 5 a.m. Monday. Warner Road will be shut down for a shorter time between Sibley Street and Childs Road starting at 7 a.m. Saturday and reopened by 5 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend events downtown include the state high school boys' hockey tournament, which started Thursday and runs to Saturday, and a Sunday night Wild hockey game against St. Louis, both at the Xcel Energy Center. Also, performances of "The Dream of Valentino" by the Minnesota Opera are at the Ordway ­Center for Performing Arts.

I-35E closed Friday evening to allow for the removal of bridges at Arlington Avenue and Wheelock Parkway over the freeway, which will be reconstructed as part of the I-35E MnPass project. Those bridges will remain closed until early May, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Warner Road is closing as construction crews demolish a portion of the existing southbound Hwy. 52 Lafayette Bridge over the road.

Traffic is two lanes in each direction on the new northbound Lafayette Bridge through September 2015 until the new southbound bridge is completed.

Jim Anderson