Weekend traffic: Lane closures on I-94, 694 and 494

While lane closures on freeways in downtown Minneapolis, Arden Hills and Plymouth have the potential to bring weekend backups, motorists on I-35E should find getting around much easier as lanes and ramps between Hwy. 36 and downtown St. Paul reopen following a long summer construction season.

The Gophers have a home football game at 11 a.m. Saturday against Purdue at TCF Bank Stadium. Motorists should anticipate congestion and delays while travelling to and around campus. And due to limited road capacity around the stadium, fans should anticipate that streets around campus will be congested for about one hour after the game. Incidents on the roadways or freeways can increase exiting time. Here is parking and transit information.

On the roads, Hwy. 65/Central Avenue remains closed between 14th and 18th Avenues NE. as construction on a new railroad bridge continues. Bridge construction also continues on the 94th Street Bridge over I-35W in Bloomington and the Brooklyn Blvd. over Hwy. 100 in Brooklyn Center.

Interstate 94 in downtown Minneapolis

MnDOT will have alternating lane closures on I-94 in both directions between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday between 11th Avenue and Groveland Avenue. However, the agency will have all westbound lanes open at 2 p.m. Saturday until football traffic leaving TCF Bank Stadium has cleared.

I-494 in Plymouth/Maple Grove

Prep work ahead of next summer's ambition freeway expansion project continues on I-494. MnDOT is warning motorists that they may encounter slow moving traffic as lanes are closed.

From 7 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Monday, northbound will be down to two lanes from I-394 and Hwy. 55 and reduced to a single lane between Hwy. 55 and the Fish Lake Interchange.

The closures are necessary so crews can work on the crossovers and bypasses needed for a construction project slated to begin next year that includes adding a third lane to the interstate and building noise walls along the corridor.

I-694 in Arden Hills/Shoreview

MnDOT will be doing mill and overlay work - that's new pavement - so the westbound right lane will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Monday between Victoria Street and Lexington Avenue.

I-35W at Hwy. 13

I-494 in Bloomington

You may have seen signs saying I-494 at Cedar Avenue was to close overnight Friday to Saturday morning. This has been cancelled. The closures will now take place in spring 2015 when surface temperatures are warm enough for crews to coat portions of the Cedar Avenue bridges over I-494 with a sealing application.

But there ongoing ramp closures at the interchange. The northbound Hwy. 77 ramps to and from I-494 are closed

Here are two other roads with lane and ramp closures

Hwy 61 in White Bear Lake - Single lane between White Bear Avenue and north of Hwy 96.
I-35E in St. Paul and Maplewood

Little Canada Road to southbound I-35E to open early Tuesday.
Southbound I-35E to eastbound Hwy 36 to open early Tuesday.
Westbound and eastbound Hwy 36 to southbound I-35E to open early Tuesday.
Roselawn Avenue to southbound I-35E to open early Tuesday.
Maryland Avenue to northbound I-35E to open Saturday.
Northbound I-35E to Roselawn Avenue to open Saturday.
Roselawn Avenue to northbound I-35E to open Saturday.
Northbound I-35E to westbound Hwy 36 to open Saturday.
Northbound I-35E to eastbound Hwy 36 to open Saturday.
Westbound and eastbound Hwy 36 to northbound I-35E to open Saturday.
Northbound I-35E to Little Canada Road to open Saturday.

Next week, more traffic changes will go into effect:

The ramp to westbound I-94 closes by morning rush-hour Monday. During the ramp closure, a posted detour will direct motorists to use southbound Jackson Street and westbound 12th Street to access westbound I-94.