Weekend traffic: Another Hwy. 100 closure, Prep Bowl, Vikings

It's the week before Thanksgiving and hard to believe that we are still talking road construction, but we are. This weekend brings another closure of Hwy. 100 through Golden Valley, St. Louis Park and Edina, as well as lane closures in Plymouth and in St. Paul.

The Minnesota Wild are away, but the Timberwolves have home games on Friday and Saturday, which will bring extra traffic to downtown Minneapolis. And be ready for fans heading to TCF Bank Stadium for high school football. The Prep Bowl takes place Friday and Saturday at the University of Minnesota.

Sunday marks the Vikings' rematch with the Green Bay Packers. It's a noon kickoff at TCF Bank Stadium.

Fans who attended one of the team's previous home probably have their parking and transit routines down. For those making their first visit to the U, here are some parking tips for Vikings fans. Plan ahead as roads around the U will be most crowded about 2 hours prior to kickoff and 90 minutes following the game.

The U has plans in place to get fans on and off campus as efficiently as possible, but officials recommend taking transit to the game.

A number of Metro Transit bus routes connect to the Green Line. Blue Line riders can transfer to the Green Line at the Downtown East Station. Green Line trains stop right across the street from the stadium at Stadium Village. Another option is getting off at the East Bank Station and avoiding the throngs using Stadium Village. It's only a few block walk. Which ever stop you use, buy a 6-hour event pass to avoid standing in line at the vending machine after the game.

Northstar trains will operate for Sunday's game. Here is the schedule.

For the second weekend in a row, crews will be demolishing a railroad bridge over Hwy. 100, and to do so they will shut down Hwy. 100 in both directions between I-394 and the Crosstown.

At 8:30 p.m. Friday, ramps along 100 between Crosstown and 394 will close, and at 10 p.m. the highway itself will be shut down. Lanes and ramps are supposed to be open by 5 a.m. Monday, MnDOT said.

During the closure, motorists will be detoured on I-394, Hwy. 169 and Crosstown. I-35W is another option. MnDOT say motorists should allow for extra travel time, watch for detour signs and find alternative routes.

Reconstructing the railway bridge is part of a 2 year construction project that will improve interchange safety and mobility on Highway 100, The project includes adding an auxiliary lane, reconfiguring and reconstructing the Minnetonka Boulevard and Hwy. 7 bridges and ramps, and building noise walls along the between Excelsior Blvd. and I-394.

I-494 in Plymouth

I-35W in Minneapolis

Look for lane restrictions in both directions of the freeway in northeast Minneapolis. Northbound will be reduced to two lanes between 3rd Street and Johnson Street at 6 p.m. Friday and to a single lane starting at 8. Work will continue until 11:45 p.m. Saturday, so expect delays. Use Hwy. 280 as a good alternate.

Southbound lanes will be reduced to two lanes from Johnson Street to Hennepin Avenue from 7 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday.

In a bit of good news, the newly constructed 4th Street entrance ramp to northbound I-35W opens to traffic this weekend. Weather permitting, the ramp will open tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 22

I-35E in St. Paul