New lane configuration in place on Interstate 35W; closure in south metro called off

The threat of rain will work in drivers' favor this weekend, as it prompted the contractor working on southbound Interstate 35W in Bloomington and Burnsville to call off the freeway closure the Minnesota Department of Transportation had planned.

In the north metro, MnDOT is planning on Friday to put a new traffic configuration in place on northbound I-35W between Roseville and New Brighton. Travel lanes will be separated by a concrete median, with the left lane designated as a through lane. Drivers needing access to County Roads C, D and E2 and Interstate 694 going either way will need to stay in the two right lanes.

Drivers will find lane closures at the Hwys. 169/41 and County Road 78 interchange south of Shakopee. Crews are finishing work on the Hwy. 169 overpass and the diverging diamond interchange below, the kind that uses traffic lights to funnel motorists to the opposite side of a road and then back to their original side. The interchange officially opens Tuesday.

Metro Transit launches a new set of schedules on Saturday. The agency is adding trips and expanding hours on routes where demand is increasing and suspending service on routes where ridership is expected to remain low through the fall.

Here's where you'll find construction on metro-area roads this weekend:

1. I-35W: Ramps from 46th Street to northbound I-35W and from northbound I-35W to 36th Street closed until September 2021. Ramps from northbound I-35W to westbound Interstate 94 and from eastbound I-94 to southbound I-35W closed until fall 2021. The ramp from 5th Avenue to eastbound I-94 closed through Nov. 8.

2. Hennepin Avenue: Lane reductions and full closure on some blocks between 13th Street and Washington Avenue.

3. 10th Avenue Bridge: Closed over the Mississippi River through midsummer 2021.

4. 3rd Avenue Bridge: Reduced to one lane in each direction over the Mississippi River through Dec. 31.

5. Ayd Mill Road: Closed between Selby Avenue and Interstate 35E until November.

6. Hwy. 95, Oak Park Heights, Bayport: Lane shifts between King Plant Road and 1st Avenue S.

7. Interstate 35, Forest Lake: Off-peak lane reductions between Hwys. 8 and 97.

8. County Road 81/Bottineau Boulevard, Brooklyn Park: Closed between Brooklyn Boulevard and 83rd Avenue N.

9. Hwy. 3, Farmington: Closed at 170th Street through Sept. 18.

10. Hwy. 169, Jackson Township: Lane reductions in the vicinity of the Hwy. 41 interchange through Tuesday.

11. Hwy. 13, Burnsville: Northbound lanes closed between 12th Avenue and E. 121st Street through Oct. 12.

12. Hwy. 5, Bloomington: Westbound lanes closed between Hwys. 62 and 55 to Interstate 494 through October.

13. I-35W, Richfield, Bloomington: Ramp from southbound I-35W to westbound I-494 closed until Nov. 10.

14. I-494, Bloomington: Westbound traffic reduced to one lane between I-35W and Penn Avenue from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday.

15. I-94, Maple Grove, Rogers: Eastbound lanes separated by a concrete median between Hwy. 101 and the I-94/494/694 split, with two lanes designated for through-traffic and one for access to local roads. Westbound lane shifts and temporary lane closures between Hwy. 101 and the I-94/494/694 split.