Weekend traffic: Hwy. 100, I-94 and light-rail shutdowns

Travelers around the metro area this weekend will encounter major construction projects on Interstate 94 and Hwy. 100 and a shutdown of a part of the Blue and Green light-rail lines.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation plans to get an early start, shutting down lanes on westbound I-94 at I-35E in downtown St. Paul at 6 p.m. Friday with a total closure to be in place by 8 p.m., a fact fans heading to the Xcel Energy Center for one of Taylor Swift's three weekend concerts will want to note.

Traffic will be detoured north on I-35E to westbound Hwy. 36, then south on Hwy. 280 while a bridge deck removal project is underway. Lanes on I-94 will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday.

It's a later start for the closure of northbound Hwy. 100 from I-494 up to the Crosstown Hwy. 62. Lanes won't close until 10 p.m. Friday. Ramps from westbound I-494 to northbound Hwy. 100 and ramps from 77th Street and 70th Street to northbound Hwy. 100 also will be closed. All lanes and ramps will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday.

Track maintenance will derail Green and Blue Line trains in downtown Minneapolis and through the University of Minnesota campus from 7 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Monday.

Buses will shuttle Blue Line riders between Target Field and Lake Street and take Green Line riders between Target Field and Raymond Avenue. Light-rail trains will run as normal elsewhere.

Here are other places motorists will see cones and detours:

• The ramp from southbound Snelling Avenue to Pierce Butler Route will be closed from 5 a.m. Friday until Sept. 21.

• Lane and ramp closures along Hwy. 5 and W. 7th Street between Fort Snelling and Davern Street in St. Paul.

• I-494 in both directions between the Fish Lake Interchange in Maple Grove and I-394 in Minnetonka.

• Hwy. 10 near Armstrong Boulevard in Ramsey. Armstrong Boulevard is closed north of Hwy. 10 through October.

• Hwy. 169 between Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 282 in Jordan is reduced to a single lane with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour through late October. Expect heavier volumes of traffic as this is the opening weekend of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee.

• The ramps to and from northbound I-35W at County Road 96 in Arden Hills are closed until next month.

• The ramp from northbound Hwy. 252 to westbound Hwy. 610 will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Monday.