Motorists planning to travel through Maplewood and Little Canada on westbound Hwy. 36 this weekend will be forced to find a different route.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will close the westbound lanes from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday between Hwy. 61 and Interstate 35E.

Crews will get started on a resurfacing and repair project that will bring seven more weekend closures this summer and early fall.

MnDOT will put down new pavement on 6 miles of the busy east metro highway over the next three months between I-35W and Edgerton Street. Other improvements include a new auxiliary lane from southbound I-35W to eastbound Hwy. 36 to help reduce congestion in the area.

MnDOT also will rebuild the ramp from northbound Cleveland Avenue to eastbound Hwy. 36 to give drivers more distance to safely merge onto the highway.

In other road construction, Snelling Avenue in St. Paul will be closed in both directions Monday through next Friday between Ford Parkway and Montreal Avenue.

In the north metro area, Hwy. 65 will be reduced to a single lane in each direction between Bunker Lake Boulevard and Andover Boulevard/147th Avenue NE. The configuration will go into effect Monday and last through July 28 as crews replace bridges between 143rd and 147th avenues in Ham Lake.

Starting June 24, both directions of Hwy. 65 will be closed between 187th Lane NE. and Viking Boulevard for 23 days. The official detour will take drivers onto nearby county roads, but MnDOT suggests motorists use I-35W or Hwy. 47 to avoid delays.