Road work closes part of Washington Avenue in downtown Minneapolis

Crews will get back to work on reconstructing Washington Avenue Monday and that means a detour for downtown drivers.

The eastbound lanes will be closed between Hennepin Avenue and 5th Avenue south until the fall. Motorists will be put on detour which will take them over to 4th Street.

Westbound Washington Avenue will remain open, but some short-term lane reductions are possible, Hennepin County transportation officials said.

Over the next five to six months, crews will remove and replace utility lines, rebuild the road and sidewalks, install new traffic signals and put in a new protected bike lane on both sides of the road.