More than 100,000 drivers use Interstate 35W between downtown Minneapolis and Roseville each day, according to state traffic counts. This weekend all of them will be detoured.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will shut down both directions of the freeway between I-94 and Hwy. 280 from Friday night to Monday morning to allow crews to take down overpasses at 7th and 8th streets on the east end of downtown.
"The bridges have reached their life span and we all know the concerns we have about bridges," said MnDOT spokesman Kevin Walker.
Lanes will be shut down from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday and motorists will be detoured via I-94 and Hwy. 280. Ramps leading to eastbound/southbound Hiawatha Avenue also will be closed.
Additionally, the ramp from westbound I-94 to 7th Street will be closed Sunday only, MnDOT said.
Once removed, the bridge carrying drivers from westbound Hiawatha Avenue — also known as Hwy. 55 — to 7th Street will remain closed until September, MnDOT said.
In the south metro, motorists will not be able to use southbound Cedar Avenue — also signed as Hwy. 77 — between I-494 and Hwy. 13 from Bloomington to Eagan from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. Cedar Avenue north of Hwy. 62 in south Minneapolis also remains closed.
In Woodbury, southbound I-494 will be shut down between I-94 and Lake Road from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for concrete repairs. After it reopens, the freeway will be reduced to two lanes in the same area from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through June 15, MnDOT said.
