Despite widespread work stoppages from the COVID-19 virus, "road closed" signs will be out and a detour posted on the 10th Avenue Bridge in downtown Minneapolis will denote that the annual road construction season will go forward in 2020.
Road construction season begins with Monday closure of 10th Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis
Five blocks of Hennepin Avenue will close next week; work will begin on 10th Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis.
March 28, 2020 at 2:35AM
The two-year bridge restoration project begins Monday. Normally, about 10,000 vehicles and 2,000 bicyclists and pedestrians use the 10th Avenue Bridge each day. They will be forced to use alternate routes until midsummer 2021.
The city of Minneapolis is replacing the bridge deck and other deteriorating concrete components on the 91-year-old span, which is immediately next to I-35W and connects SE. 10th Avenue on the east side of the Mississippi River with S. 19th Avenue on the west side. When it reopens, it will have one traffic lane in each direction along with wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes.
Similarly, work begins on Hennepin Avenue on Tuesday, when the street will be closed between 7th and 12th streets for most of the summer. Southbound Hennepin will be closed from 6th Street to Washington Avenue as the Hennepin Avenue Reconstruction project continues.
Drivers crossing Hennepin at 4th and 11th streets can expect delays as lane restrictions will be in place, said city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie.
Work on the four-year, $240 million I-35W Downtown to Crosstown project ramps up next week. Drivers on northbound I-35W will find lane restrictions between 42nd and 40th streets Monday through Friday nights as MnDOT tackles a drainage project. Lake Street will be slimmed down to one lane in each direction between 2nd and 5th avenues from Monday through mid-June.
In Bloomington and Burnsville, ramps to and from southbound I-35W and Black Dog Road and from 106th Street to southbound I-35W are already closed through the summer. Drivers on I-35W will encounter overnight lane closures in both directions between Cliff Road and 106th Street.
Ramps to and from Interstate 94 at Dale Street in St. Paul closed last week for a bridge reconstruction project. Next weekend both directions of I-94 will be closed at Dale Street from Friday night to 5 a.m. April 6, the MNDOT said.
County projects are starting, too. In Prior Lake, Scott County crews on Monday will close the intersection of Hwy. 13 and County Road 21 to build a roundabout. In Brooklyn Park, Hennepin County Road 81 is closed between 79th Avenue and W. Broadway as the county rebuilds the intersection of County Road 81 and Brooklyn Boulevard.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will release its list of 2020 construction projects Thursday, said spokesman David Aeikens.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
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