Weekend traffic: I-35W, Crosstown closures on tap

Northbound I-35W will be closed from the Crosstown to downtown Minneapolis from late Friday until early Monday morning. Southbound lanes will remain open, so going home won't be an issue.

Meanwhile motorists in the southwest metro will have to deal with the closure of the Crosstown in both directions at Hwy. 169 in Edina. In Minneapolis, eastbound 94 goes down by one lane as MnDOT works on a noise wall.

A spate of other construction projects and Open Streets celebrations in Minneapolis and St. Paul will force drivers to use different routes in other parts of the metro. Here is a rundown:

Northbound I-35W from Richfield to downtown Minneapolis

The barricades will go up at 11:45 p.m. Friday and stay in place until 5 a.m. Monday from at 66th Street to the I-94 interchange. Motorists will have access to both directions of the Crosstown where it joins with I-35W.

Motorists will be directed to use westbound 494 to northbound Hwy. 100, then northbound to I-394 and east on I-394 to downtown Minnepolis.

A second option would be to use westbound Crosstown to Hwy. 100 and then north to 394 and east on 394 to I-94.

MnDOT crews will be conducting survey work for a project to upgrade the freeway between 46th Street and I-94 scheduled in the summer of 2017. Closing the freeway will provide a safer work environment for survey and maintenance crews as stretches of I-35W work have limited to no shoulder space, MnDOT said.

Crosstown at Hwy. 169 in Edina

This one will be inconvenient, but not horrible as MnDOT presses on with replacing bridges over the Crosstown.

Both directions of the Crosstown will be shut down at the Hwy. 169 interchange from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. This is in addition to the long-running closure of northbound Hwy. 169 from I-494 to Bren Road.

Here is the detour: Eastbound traffic will be sent south on Hwy 169, then east on I-494 back north to the Crosstown via Hwy 100.

Eastbound I-94 in Minneapolis

MnDOT will be working on a noise wall in the area of Franklin Avenue, and to do that eastbound 94 traffic will be reduced to three lanesbetween Huron Blvd. and Hwy. 280. The lane closure will begin at 5 a.m. Friday and run until 3 p.m. Monday. One exception: MnDOT will have all four lanes for the Friday afternoon rush from 3 to 6 p.m.

I-35E in St. Paul

The ramp from westbound 94 to northbound 35E opened last week, and that has made getting through St. Paul a tad easier. But we still have a lot of construction just north of downtown. Here is what is still shut down:

Also in St. Paul and Eagan, look for overnight lane closures and temporary ramp closures associated with shoulder rehab project running through mid-October.

Construction on northbound I-35W between the University Avenue/4th Street exit and Johnson Street continues. Prepare for slow traffic in the area as motorists navigate lane shifts and periodic lane closures.

Here are some of the impacts that remain:

4th Street in downtown Minneapolis

This street closed from I-35W to Washington/Cedar Avenue until late September as crews reconstruct the road and new turn lanes for northbound I-35W entrance ramp.. 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.

The flyover bridge from northbound 35W to 3rd Street and downtown Minneapolis also is closed and will be until Tuesday. The detour is to use Washington Avenue to Chicago Avenue, then back to 3rd Street.

The section of highway between Lone Oak Road and the north intersection of Hwy. 149 will have alternating lane closures through November. That means single lane in each direction. Also in the area, Hwy. 149 will be single lane between I-494 and Hwy. 55.

Northbound Hwy 65 in Fridley, Spring Lake Park

Northbound Hwy 65 between Medtronic Parkway/Old Central Avenue and County Road 10 is closed and detoured.

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 multiple streets that are closed where they intersect with Hwy 61.

The southbound I-35W ramp to westbound Hwy 13 is closed through late fall as part of a Dakota County project. Also look for lanes on 35W to be closed for a few hours Saturday morning as crew make guard rail repairs between the Minnesota River bridge and 106th Street.

County Road 61/Flying Cloud Drive in Chaska

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.

The 94th Street bridge over I-35W in Bloomington is closed through mid-October. One traffic change: Motorists will once again be able to exit and enter southbound I-35W at 94th Street starting Friday.

MnDOT is widening bridges between and other work ahead of a freeway expansion project that will bring a third lane in each direction between Hwy. 55 and Bass Lake Road. Night and weekend lane shifts and closures on I-494 can be expected through November as crews remove the guardrails to reconstruct the road shoulders.

Hwy. 36 in east metro

This long-running project has the road down to a single lane through Oak Park Heights and Stillwater from Hwy. 5 to Hwy. 95.

I-694 ramp to southbound 35E in Little Canada

The exit ramp is closed. Road maintenance work is in progress. Expect delays through the completion of the project set for Friday, but it might still be in place through the weekend.

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 and a few changes recently went into effect.

Here are a few detours that are still in effect: To go from eastbound Hwy. 7 to northbound Louisiana Avenue, use northbound Texas Avenue to eastbound Minnetonka Blvd. To go southbound on Louisiana Avenue from Hwy 7, take southbound Blake Road to eastbound Excelsior Avenue.

Also look out for road work near County 19 in Excelsior. That will affect eastbound motorists the most.

Open Streets celebrations in Minneapolis and St. Paul

In St. Paul, University Avenue between Marion Street and Lexington Pkwy. will be turned over to bicyclists and pedestrians from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Green Line trains will run as usual, but Metro Transit bus route 16 will be on detour from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Here is the rider alert from Metro:

Eastbound buses will travel regular route on University Ave to Lexington Pkwy, left on Lexington Pkwy, right on Thomas Ave, right on Marion St to University Ave and resume regular routing.

Westbound buses will travel regular route on Marion St to University Ave, continue on Marion St to Thomas Ave, left on Thomas Ave, left on Lexington Pkwy, right on University Ave and resume regular routing.

Minneapolis Parkways