Ramp and lane closures, oh my! Month-long project at major interchange now underway

A ramp closure at a major Minneapolis interchange, as well as a lane reduction on I-94, will cause many Twin Cities area drivers to take a different route or leave earlier for roughly a month.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is closing the northbound I-35W ramp to eastbound I-94 until Friday, Nov. 29. The closure began early Monday morning and is necessary in order for crews to build crossovers that drivers will be able to use next year when maintenance work is done on five different bridges along I-94.

Those bridges include the Dartmouth Bridge spanning the Mississippi River, as well as the Riverside Avenue bridge that goes over I-94 as well as the bridges over Cedar Avenue, Highway 55/Hiawatha Avenue and the Light Rail Transit (Blue Line).

MnDOT officials say drivers will be able to use northbound I-35W, eastbound Highway 36, southbound I-35E and I-94 to get around the closure.

In addition to the ramp closure, both directions of I-94 will be down to two lanes between 11th Avenue South and Franklin Avenue Southeast through sometime in late November.

Transportation officials remind drivers that all construction plans are subject to change due to the weather.

An interactive traffic map showing current conditions can be found below.