Weekend traffic: A sports trifecta, road work and DWI enforcement

It's a sports trifecta as the Lynx, Twins and Vikings have home games that will bring extra traffic to downtown Minneapolis while the Renaissance Festival has its opening weekend in Shakopee.

Meanwhile the grand opening of the Twin Cities Premium Outlet Mall in Eagan continues through Sunday, and of course, road construction season rolls on with a spate of work projects across the metro area.

If you drink, don't drive. Law enforcement will be stepping up its efforts to catch drunk drivers as a safe and sober campaign runs through the end of the month.

Vikings

Fans heading to this weekend's preseason Vikings game won't have to fight rush hour traffic to get to TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota where the team takes on Arizona at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Expect ramp jams on I-94 at Huron Blvd. and on I-35W at the University Avenue/4th Street exits, the two main ways to get to campus from the freeways.

Here are a few tips from the folks at the University Parking and Transportation Services: Because of limited road capacity around the stadium, fans should anticipate that streets around campus will be congested for about one hour after the game. Incidents on the roadways or freeways can increase exiting time. On game days, drivers should anticipate congestion and delays while traveling to and around campus. Carpooling and using transit are highly recommended. Here is parking information.

Transit

Renaissance Festival

Look for extra activity, lane restrictions and lower speed limits on Hwy. 169 in the vicinity of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee. This is the first of seven weekends featuring themed entertainment on 16 stages. This weekend's offerings include the World Amateur Highland Games, a kilt competition and a keg toss.

Outlet mall in Eagan

Extra time will likely be needed to get into and out of the new outlet mall at Hwy. 13 and Cedar Avenue. Directional signs will help guide you, but be prepared for lots of traffic. You can see travel tips in my Thursday blog post. To make it easy, Metro Transit is offering free rides on the Blue Line. The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) is offering free rides on the Red and routes 437, 438, 440, 444, 445 , 472 and 475. You need to download a coupon to ride fare free.

And now onto road construction:

The 94th Street bridge over I-35W in Bloomington is closed through mid-October. Ramps to and from 35W to 94th are closed for the next several weeks.

Hwy. 55 in Eagan

The westbound lanes of Hwy 55 will be closed between Lone Oak Road and the north intersection of Hwy. 149. Detour: Use Lone Oak Road and Lexington Avenue The eastbound lanes will remain open.

Also in the area, Hwy. 149 will be single lane between I-494 and Hwy. 55.

University Avenue/4th Street ramp near the U of M

Take 10th Avenue north to Johnson Street, then east on Broadway Street to the New Brighton Blvd ramp to northbound 35W.

MnDOT will open the ramp for a couple hours Saturday following the Vikings game to help get traffic off campus.

4th Street in downtown Minneapolis

Utility work has this street closed from I-35W to Washington/Cedar Avenue until late September. Drivers can still get onto southbound 35W, but those heading to the University of Minnesota will need to follow this detour: Northbound on Park Avenue, then right on Washington Avenue to Cedar Avenue.

Look for the flyover bridge from northbound 35W to 3rd Street and downtown Minneapolis to close next week.

The County Road 152/Brooklyn Boulevard Bridge is closed to motorists and pedestrians through mid-October.

Hwy 61 between White Bear Avenue and north of Hwy 96 is reduced to a single lane. There are multipe streets that are closed where they intersect with Hwy 61.

Lane closures; Northbound to eastbound County Road 144 is closed; westbound County Road 144 to northbound Hwy 101 is closed; County Road 144 is closed between James Road and the Hwy 101 construction; Hwy 101 between South Diamond Lake Road and 147th Street is single lane.

I-494 and Cedar Avenue in Bloomington

The ramp closures and lane restrictions near Mall of America go into effect at 8 p.m. Saturday. Here is the impact:

Motorists on eastbound I-494 who need to access northbound Cedar Avenue will be detoured to northbound 34th Street and back west on I-494. Northbound Cedar drivers needing to go west on I-494 should use the west I-494/Hwy. 5 exit one-half mile to the south. Detour signs will be posted, MnDOT says.

Cedar Avenue will remain open, but MnDOT says motorists need to be on the look out for traffic switches, narrow lanes and construction between 66th Street and Old Shakopee Road.

The ramp from westbound I-94 to northbound I-35E is also closed for another couple weeks. A number of ramps between Little Canada Road and Maryland Avenue remained closed as work on adding a new MnPASS lane and reconstruction of 35E continues. Here is a list:

The southbound I-35W ramp to westbound Hwy 13 is closed through late fall as part of a Dakota County project.

This should be the last weekend for lane closures on eastbound I-494 on the Wakota Bridge between Hardman Avenue in South St Paul and Maxwell Avenue in Newport. The freeway will be reduced to two lanes.

Look for flaggers and construction in the vicinity of County 61/Flying Cloud Drive and the intersection of Hwy. 101.

In addition, both directions of County Road 61 will close east of Great Plains Blvd. at Bluff Creek. Motorists traveling west on County 61 will not have access to the Hwy. 101 bridge into Shakopee. The bridge itself will be open to traffic between Shakopee and Eden Prairie.

Hwy. 169 in Edina

We've had this one in placea couple weeks, but incase you are coming into town for any of the above events or coming back from the Renaissance Festival, here's your reminder: The northbound lanes are closed from I-494 to Bren Road. Detour: Westbound I-494 to eastbound I-394 or eastbound I-494 to northbound Hwy. 100, then west on I-394

I-494 in Plymouth

A reminder that Schmidt Lake Road under 494 is closed. Motorists can bypass the closed segment by using Vicksburg Lane or Northwest Boulevard to County Road 47.

Hwy. 7 in St. Louis Park

Be cautious as you pass through the bridge reconstruction zone at Louisiana Avenue. Traffic has been switched to the new Hwy. 7 bridge, but there is no access to Louisiana Avenue.

Franklin Avenue

The next installment of the Minneapolis Open Streets events to promote healthy living, local businesses, sustainable transportation and civic pride in Minneapolis features music, entertainment and vendors. Franklin Avenue will be closed from Portland Avenue to 28th Avenue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The Lung Run and Walk will take place on Lake Harriet Pkwy. from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, the YWCA Women's Triathlon will have Nokomis, Minnehaha and West River parkways out of service from 7 to 11 a.m.