I-35W project in south Minneapolis to be done Sept. 10

Motorists who drive on Interstate 35W in south Minneapolis likely will be celebrating — and maybe even honking their horns, too — on Sept. 10. That's when the Minnesota Department of Transportation says it will be done with the massive rebuilding of the freeway that has shifted traffic around for the past four years.

"It's been a long haul and people are anxious for the reopening," south Minneapolis resident Teresa Erickson said in an e-mail in which she asked how much longer she'll have to dodge orange cones.

Before COVID-19, Erickson and her husband rode Metro Transit express buses to downtown Minneapolis but have driven more often since the pandemic started because many express routes were cut and have yet to return. Driving has hardly been smooth sailing.

"We hop on 35 to downtown at the 46th Street entrance," she said. "The highway is one lane for us until it joins up with two other lanes at approximately Lake Street. The drive home was pretty miserable until they reopened the southbound entrance at 4th Avenue."

Things are changing almost daily between Interstate 94 and 43rd Street as the $240 million overhaul enters the home stretch. And there is still plenty to do over the next two months, said MnDOT construction engineer Steven Barrett.

Motorists will have to endure one more weekend closure. The freeway will be shut down in both directions between downtown Minneapolis and Crosstown Hwy. 62 from the night of July 9 to the morning of July 12 to allow crews to switch traffic onto new lanes, "setting the stage for the final wrap up," Barrett said.

With some lanes still out of service, don't expect ramps leading to and from I-35W — such as those at Lake, 31st and 35th streets — to open until the last minute, Barrett said. "We won't have the lane capacity to bring on a lot of ramps," he said.

That includes a new flyover bridge that will carry northbound I-35W traffic to westbound I-94. When that opens, motorists will have to adjust to a big change as they enter westbound I-94 in their own lane on the left side of the freeway. With the old ramp, drivers crossed over I-94 then entered on the right side of the freeway and were forced to merge into traffic, said MnDOT spokesman David Aeikens.

MnDOT moved the entrance to westbound I-94 to the left side to eliminate congestion that often occurred during peak periods and sometimes left motorists on I-35W accessing the flyover ramp in precarious positions when traffic backed up. MnDOT found about 75% of traffic using the flyover ramp continued on westbound I-94 past I-394, so most motorists won't be attempting to cross three lanes of traffic to get to the exit for Hennepin and Lyndale avenues.

Over the next two months, crews will be finishing curbs and median barriers, placing underground cables and connecting cameras with MnDOT's traffic management center. They also will be completing electrical work, installing signs, painting lanes and grading topsoil.

Barrett said as traffic has picked up in recent months, so have drivers' speeds. That's worrisome as there have been some crashes and "a few near misses." He reminds drivers that the speed limit is 50 mph and workers are still on the job, just feet from vehicles whizzing by.

"Thank you for your continued patience," he said. "Pay attention while driving through. We will be working right up to the contract completion date."

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