Highway 62 closes Thursday night through the weekend

Signs have been up all week along Highway 62 alerting drivers to a road closure that will last several days in the Eden Prairie and Minnetonka area.

Crews are in the process of building a tunnel underneath Highway 62 as part of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project.

Surprised you’re still seeing construction barrels in December? Metro Transit says with a project of this magnitude, they won’t stop until they can’t dig anymore.

"It’s the largest public infrastructure project in the history of the state, dwarfing even U.S. Bank Stadium," Metro Transit’s Trevor Roy. "There’s a lot of work, we’re doing a lot of work. There’s not a single mile of this project that isn’t has some sort of work that’s going on right now. And you’ll see it up and down the alignment. Dirt’s being moved, stations are being built, track is being shifted, bridges are being erected, and tunnels are being dug."

Starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, Highway 62 will close in both directions between Shady Oak Road and Highway 212. The detour takes drivers to I-494 and Highway 212.

Southwest Light Rail Transit will serve downtown Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie starting in 2023.