I-94 St. Paul to Woodbury to remain open this weekend

A weekend closure of I-94 from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury has been called off and will be rescheduled to sometime this fall.

The contractor hired to demolish the Kellogg Boulevard/3rd Street bridge had submitted a permit to close the freeway from Friday night to Monday morning, but the lane request closure was denied by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said agency spokesman Kent Barnard.

However, word about the closure of all eastbound and westbound lanes between Interstate 35E and the Interstate 494/94/694 interchange remained on MnDOT’s 511 traffic information site. The information about the closure was removed mid-Thursday, Barnard said.

The Kellogg Boulevard bridge, which carries about 14,000 vehicles a day, shut down last week as a replacement project got underway. The bridge was deemed structurally insufficient about a decade ago. St. Paul city officials later placed barriers on the outer portions of the bridge deck to funnel traffic to the center lanes.

Over the next three years, St. Paul will undertake what it has called the “largest and most complex public infrastructure project since 1995.”

When the bridge reopens in 2027, it will have two travel lanes in both directions and a concrete barrier on both sides to separate traffic from 12-foot-wide trails to be shared by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Intersections near Union Depot and at Mounds Boulevard will be reconstructed to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and vehicles, including bus rapid transit.

The new bridge will also feature artist-designed ornamental railings and piers, city officials said.