Weekend traffic: I-94 to be shut down in downtown Minneapolis for next three weekends

Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune

Interstate 94 in downtown Minneapolis will be closed this weekend. And next weekend. And the weekend after that.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will shut the freeway down in both directions between Interstates 394 and 35W for the next three weekends to allow crews refurbish the Irene Hixon Whitney pedestrian bridge spanning I-94 and connecting the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Loring Park.

Hennepin Avenue/Lyndale Avenue near Loring Park will be closed between Dunwoody Boulevard and Oak Grove Street.

Keep those closures in mind if you're heading to Saturday's Kenny Chesney concert at U.S. Bank Stadium or the Loons' match at TCF Bank Stadium. You'll also find road closures in the vicinity of St. Paul's Cinco de Mayo celebration on Cesar Chavez Street (don't forget about the blockage on nearby Wabasha Street due to the rock slide), and the In the Heart of the Beast's May Day Parade and festival Sunday in Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis.

Here is your weekend traffic round up:

Minneapolis

2. Portland Avenue: Closed from 7 p.m. Friday until 7 p.m. Sunday from 15th to 31st streets. Detour is via Chicago Avenue.

3. Penn Avenue N.: Three closures related to construction of the C-Line bus rapid transit line are in place: 26th to Lowry avenues, 17th to 21st avenues and 12th to 14th avenues.

4. University Avenue NE.: Closed from Lowry Avenue to 44th Avenue NE. in Columbia Heights.

St. Paul

5. Wabasha Street: Plato Boulevard to Cesar Chavez due to a rock slide.

North Metro

7. Interstate 35 in Forest Lake: Northbound will be reduced to two lanes from Hwy. 97 to Hwy. 8 through August. Ramps at Hwy. 97 and Broadway will remain open.

8. Hwy. 10 in Elk River: Eastbound reduced to one lane and westbound to two lanes and sometimes one for between Joplin Street and Upland Avenue.

9. Hwy. 169 in Champlin: Expect periodic lane closures between Hwy. 610 and East Hayden Lake Road ahead of major reconstruction set to start Monday. Single lane traffic will be in place by 8 p.m. Sunday, MnDOT says.

East Metro

South metro

11. Hwy. 50 in Farmington: Closed 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday between Hwys. 3 and 52. Starting Monday, single lane flagging operations will occur between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily through late August.