Highway 169 to close for entire year, open house to discuss details

Starting November 2016, both directions of Highway 169 between Bren Road and 7th Street will completely close for a year to replace the Highway 169 bridge over Nine Mile Creek in Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Edina.  The project also involves repaving Highway 169 from Highway 55 to just north of Highway 62.

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the conditions of the bridge require that it be replaced by 2020. The project is estimated to cost $72 million to $87 million.

An advantage of closing the area for a full year is it reduces construction impacts from three years to one year by consolidating all of the planned Highway 169 projects, MnDOT stated.  It also allows construction to occur at a time when less construction is occurring on alternate routes.

In general, the rest of Highway 169 excluding the bridge area will go to one lane in each direction during the typical construction season.

MORE INFO- TH 169 Nine Mile Creek Bridge Replacement

An open house will take place at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at 4 p.m. on Wednesday with more details. Members of MnDOT will answer any questions or concerns from the public.