Weekend traffic: Road buckling from heat possible; I-94 traffic shifts

Look out for pavement buckles, MnDOT warns.

By Tim Harlow Star Tribune

June 10, 2017 — 7:20am

Hot, hot, hot. The pavement will sizzle, and that has the Minnesota Department of Transportation warning motorists to look out for buckling roads.

The calendar is light on major traffic-generating events. The heat might keep crowds down at celebrations such as the reopening of the Walker Sculpture Garden, the Northern Spark art festival and Minneapolis Open Streets on 1st and Washington avenues N. downtown. But roads might be crowded near lakes, pools and anyplace cool. If you are on the roads, here is where you might sweat it out in construction zones.

Interstate 94

1. From St. Paul to Maplewood: Two lanes open in each direction between Century Avenue and Mounds Boulevard; temporary lane and ramp closures. Ramps to Mounds Boulevard and Hwy. 61 and from Ruth Street to westbound I-94 are closed.

2. From Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center: Traffic has been shifted to the two lanes nearest the center median divider, and the speed limit has been reduced to 50 miles per hour between I-694 and Hwy. 55. No access from southbound Hwy. 252 to eastbound I-94. The ramp from eastbound I-94 to Hennepin/Lyndale avenues is closed until June 22; the ramp from Washington Avenue to westbound I-94 is closed until Monday.

Minneapolis

3. Cedar and Portland avenues: Closed between 28th and Lake streets.

4. Minnehaha Avenue: Closed between Cedar and Franklin avenues.

East metro

5. I-35E in St. Paul: Lane restrictions at Shepard Road through Sept. 22.

6. White Bear Avenue in St. Paul: Closed between I-94 and Minnehaha Avenue.

7. Snelling Avenue/Hwy. 51 in Falcon Heights: Single lane in each direction between Como Avenue and Hwy. 36 through October. The ramp from eastbound Hwy. 36 to southbound Snelling is closed through Wednesday.

8. Hwy. 110 in Mendota Heights: Lane closures between Lexington Avenue and I-494 through Sunday. On Monday all eastbound lanes between I-35E and I-494 will be closed.

North metro

9. I-694 in Shoreview: Eastbound is restricted to two lanes separated by a concrete barrier between Hwy. 10 and I-35E. The inside lane carries through traffic and drivers must continue east on I-694. The outside/right lane allows access to local streets and drivers must continue south on I-35E. Westbound traffic is down to two lanes. The ramp from Rice Street to westbound I-694 is closed until the project is finished in October. Ramps to and from eastbound I-694 at Rice Street close Tuesday.

10. Hwy. 10 at I-35W in Arden Hills: The ramp from westbound Hwy. 10 to northbound I-35W is closed through late August.

11. Hwy. 96 in Vadnais Heights: Westbound single lane between Centerville Road and White Bear Parkway through August.

West metro

12. Hwy. 169 in Edina and St. Louis Park: The Nine Mile Creek bridge between Bren Road and Lincoln Drive/5th Street is closed and the highway is single lane between I-394 and Excelsior Boulevard. The ramp from westbound I-394 to southbound Hwy. 169 is closed through October. The ramp from Cedar Lake Road to northbound Hwy. 169 is closed until June 20.