Weekend traffic: Bridge projects bring closures, lane reductions on I-35W

Freeway closures are never convenient and this weekend bridge projects will hamper travel on Interstate 35W in the south metro.

In Bloomington and Burnsville, drivers on I-35W will be detoured to Cedar Avenue while MnDOT takes down the 86th Street bridge.

Minneapolis will be busy with Twins games Saturday and Sunday, and road closures, too, as portions of Hennepin Avenue will be shut down for the Basilica Block Party on Saturday night. Parkways in the vicinity of Minnehaha Park will blocked off during Saturday's Minneapolis Life Time Fitness Triathlon.

Elsewhere, road work will put drivers on a different kind of endurance test. If you are lucky to find a stretch of open road, be warned: Police continue a two-week crackdown on speeders through July 23.

1. I-94 from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center: Vehicles weighing more than 9,000 pounds are prohibited from using the Lowry Hill Tunnel, which is reduced to two lanes in each direction. The ramps from westbound I-94 to westbound I-394 and Hwy. 55 and from northbound I-35W to westbound I-94 are closed. Lane restrictions are in effect between I-35W and Hwy. 252/Shingle Creek Parkway.

2. I-94 from St. Paul to Maplewood: Eastbound has the left lane set aside for through traffic while the far right lane is for drivers exiting or entering between Century Avenue and Mounds Boulevard.

3. Cedar and Portland avenues: Closed between 28th and Lake streets.

5. 3rd Avenue S.: Single lane between 1st and 2nd streets; lane closures on Washington Avenue between 3rd and 5th avenues S.

6. Hwy. 51/Snelling Avenue: Single lane between Como Avenue and Hwy. 36. Ramps from eastbound Hwy. 36 to northbound Hwy. 51 and northbound Hwy. 51 to eastbound Hwy. 36 are closed.

7. I-35E in St. Paul: Lane restrictions in the vicinity of Shepard Road.

8. Hwy. 110 in Mendota Heights: Eastbound lanes closed between I-35E and I-494. Ramp from Hwy. 3/Robert Street to eastbound I-494 is closed.

9. Hwy. 96 in White Bear Lake: Single lane between Centerville Road and White Bear Parkway.

11. I-35W at Hwy. 10 in Arden Hills: Ramps from westbound Hwy. 10 to northbound I-35W and northbound I-35W to County Road I are closed.

12. Hwy. 169 in Edina and St. Louis Park: The Nine Mile Creek bridge between Bren Road and Lincoln Drive/5th Street is closed and the highway is single lane between I-394 and Excelsior Boulevard. The ramp from westbound I-394 to southbound Hwy. 169 is closed.

13. I-35W in Burnsville and Bloomington: Northbound closed until 5 a.m. Monday between the I-35E/I-35W split in Burnsville and I-494 in Bloomington. Southbound closed from I-494 to 90th Street and single lane from 90th to the I-35E/35W split.