Weekend traffic: Closures of portions of I-94 and 494, I-394 opens

Getting around the around in the metro area won't get any easier this weekend as portions of two freeways will be shut down, making it harder to get to Aquatennial's signature fireworks and other festivities or to Target Field where the Twins host the New York Yankees in a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

But getting out of downtown Minneapolis will be much easier as MnDOT has finished its work and will reopen all westbound lanes of I-394 Friday. It was not supposed to open until Monday.

The Saints have home games Friday through Sunday at CHS Field in St. Paul. And it's the Lowertown Blues Fest Saturday in Mears Park.

Detour signs will be out on Interstate 94 in St. Paul as the westbound lanes between Interstate 35E and Hwy. 280 close at 10 p.m. Friday. They will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday, or sooner if MnDOT crews finish pouring concrete for the north side of the Snelling Avenue bridge early.

The detour will route motorists north on I-35E to I-694, then west on 694 to I-35W and south to Hwy. 280.

In the west metro, the southbound lanes of Interstate 494 between the Fish Lake Interchange and I-394 will close from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. Motorists will be detoured by way of Hwy. 169 and westbound I-394 while MnDOT constructs storm sewers along the 8-mile stretch. To accommodate the detour, the ramp from westbound I-394 to southbound I-494 will open for the weekend.

A partial-day closure of Hwy. 5 between Davern Street in St. Paul and Hwy. 55 near Fort Snelling on Saturday may affect drivers heading to and from the MSP Airport. Barriers will be in place from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m.

That's all in addition to other long-running projects, including new work that began this week on Hwy. 100 through Edina. One lane in each direction is closed between Crosstown and I-494. A new wrinkle is that the ramp from southbound Hwy. 100 to 77th Street will close at midnight Sunday until Aug. 1. The ramp from northbound Hwy. 100 to 77th Street is scheduled to reopen Saturday.

Here is where you'll also be seeing orange, as in cones, and red as in brake lights and delays. And to curb your temptation to speed through them, law enforcement is continuing its speeding crack down through the weekend.

I-394 in Minneapolis and Golden Valley

The westbound lanes between downtown Minneapolis and Hwy. 100 reopen to general traffic Friday and the HOT lane returns to its normal function for buses, carpools and those who pay to drive in the reversable lanes.

MnDOT will close the eastbound lanes on July 31.

I-35E in St. Paul

This week, the ramp from northbound 35E to Roselawn Avenue closed as did Roselawn under the freeway. This will be in place until mid-August. The ramp at Larpenteur Avenue is open. The detour for Roselawn drivers is to follow Edgerton Street, County Road B and Rice Street.

Overnight Thursday to Friday, the new northbound bridge over Cayuga Street opened, so be aware of that traffic switch.

A number of ramps are closed and be prepared for changing lane configurations as you pass through the area.

Starting Sunday, southbound I-35E between County Road E and Hwy. 96 will be reduced to one lane from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Aug. 3. In the same location, northbound I-35E will be reduced to one lane from 8 p.m. to noon daily until Aug. 3.

The highway is reduced to two lanes in each direction between Cedar Lake Road and Excelsior Blvd. Reminder that these ramps between Cedar Lake Road and Excelsior Blvd. remained closed:

Also, the northbound Hwy. 100 to Barry Street is closed for about a month.

Snelling Avenue in St. Paul

Snelling Avenue over I-94 is closed until late August. Traffic is being routed over to Lexington Avenue or along the official detour on Marshall and University Avenues, Vandalia Street and Cretin Avenue.

These ramps are closed:

Hwy. 13 in Mendota

Both directions of the highways are closed between 2nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Mendota at Lilydale. This will be in place until Aug. 22. Detour is via I-35E and Hwy. 110.

Hwy. 10 in Ramsey

Hwy. 10 near Armstrong Boulevard may have congestion related delays through October while Armstrong Boulevard is closed north of Hwy 10. A link to detours for drivers needing alternate routes can be found here.

Kellogg Boulevard in downtown St. Paul

During the closure, motorists will be directed to use 7th Street and Robert Street.

Franklin Avenue bridge

Motor vehicle traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each direction across the Mississippi River.

West River Parkway has been closed north of the Franklin Avenue Bridge since June 2014 due to mudslide repair work that will be completed by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. These traffic changes are still in place:

• North on West River Parkway to east on Franklin Avenue: Ramp open.
• North on West River Parkway to west on Franklin Avenue: Follow E. 25th Street to S. 31st Avenue. Then take a left on Franklin Avenue.
• East on Franklin Avenue to south on W. River Parkway: Ramp open.
• West on Franklin Avenue to south on W. River Parkway: Follow S. 31st Avenue to E. 25th Street and take a right on W. River Parkway.

Minnehaha Avenue in south Minneapolis

The second stage of the reconstruction project is underway with tree removal and parking restrictions in place between 38th Street and 42nd Street.

Final asphalt paving operations and striping between 46th Street and 42nd Street is nearing completion. Hennepin County is saying the detour for bicyclists will remain in effect until all paving and striping operations between 42nd and 46th Streets are complete. The county says there also are lane restrictions on 46th Street between Snelling Avenue and 41st Avenue S.

County Road 101 in Minnetonka and Wayzata

Bushaway Road (County Road 101) is closed to through traffic between Hwy. 12 and Minnetonka Blvd. All non-local traffic should follow the marked detour using Minnetonka Boulevard, I-494 and Hwy. 12.

Repaving continues on I-94 between Rogers and St. Michael. Motorists can expect lane closures eastbound between Hwy. 241 and Hwy. 101 after 7 p.m, and westbound after 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. There also is a lane shift at the Crow River.

Hwy. 5 in Carver County

West metro drivers on Hwy. 5 have two closures: in Waconia between County Road 10 and Oak Avenue until Aug. 1, and in Victoria between E. Scandia Road and County Road 11 until Sept. 3.

Hwy. 169 in Jordan

Hwy. 169 between Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 282 is reduced to a single lane and a speed limit of 45 miles per hour through late October.

The gala celebrating the city's lakes and water brings a number of closures on Saturday. They include West River Road between Broadway and Plymouth Avenue N. and West River Parkway between 4th Avenue and Portland Avenue.

Both closures will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The fireworks are at 10 p.m. Saturday, so expect heavy foot and vehicular traffic throughout downtown Saturday night particularly on Hennepin Avenue, Washington Avenue, 3rd Avenue and 1st Avenue.