With Twins and Vikings games Sunday, odds are high for downtown Mpls. traffic jams

Oddsmakers have anointed the Green Bay Packers as the slight favorite to beat the Vikings in Sunday's season-opening matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Blocks away at Target Field, it appears to be toss-up as the Twins take on the Guardians in a key division series.

With both teams playing Sunday matinees, here's one bet that is almost a certainty: Traffic.

More than 80,000 sports fans are expected to stream into the city, and all those vehicles will be squeezed as key entrance and exit routes leading to and from the stadiums are closed for construction.

Drivers coming from the north metro will find the ramp from eastbound (southbound) I-94 to 4th Street closed, with all exiting traffic pushed over to 7th Street. The ramp from 3rd Street to westbound I-94 also remains closed, which will force drivers leaving either game onto northbound Washington Avenue up to 22nd Avenue N.

On the east end of downtown, ramps connecting Hiawatha Avenue with downtown Minneapolis are closed as MnDOT replaces bridge decks on 7th and 8th streets. All incoming traffic will be directed to the 3rd Street ramp, while motorists leaving downtown will be sent over to 4th Street.

"It's a good idea to know your transportation options and plan ahead," the city of Minneapolis said in a news release.

Minneapolis plans to deploy police and traffic control agents at many intersections to keep traffic flowing. Signals also are being retimed to keep motorists moving. Dynamic messaging signs will be used to provide drivers with real-time information about traffic and parking, said city spokesperson Casper Hill.

Metro Transit plans to deploy three-car trains on both the Blue and Green light-rail lines Sunday so fans can be "comfortably accommodated," said spokesperson Drew Kerr. The agency had been running two-car trains as part of a pilot over the summer to promote safety and cleanliness.

But construction could also impact some riders. Metro Transit continues a rail maintenance project on the south end of the Blue Line, with buses filling in between the Mall of America in Bloomington and Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

To avoid having to transfer from a bus to a Blue Line train, Kerr suggested that fans park at Fort Snelling Station.

After more than 181,000 people took express buses to the State Fair this year — up from 77,000 in 2021 — Kerr said Metro Transit is bracing for a big ridership day on Sunday.