Spring road construction projects pushing ahead, closures begin Friday night

(FOX 9) - It may look like winter, but spring road construction can’t wait for spring with two major closures scheduled this weekend.

Both of them involve bridge projects that will last months.

On any given day, Hwy. 62 is a bumper-to-bumper commuter parade, but this weekend, the parade stops between Hwy. 100 and I-35W so crews can take down the France Avenue Bridge.

“We’re going to be starting some work tonight on the France Avenue Bridge over Hwy. 62,” said David Aeikens, of MnDOT. “So, we’re going to knock part of the bridge down and we’re going to need to close the Crosstown from Hwy. 100 to I-35W at 10 p.m. tonight. Monday morning, we’ll get her open for everyone.”

The bridge is 30 years old and that’s why it’s coming down. To put it back up will take three months, which is why if you’re heading to Fairview Hospital you have to plan ahead because the on and off ramps will close, too.

“So, the ramps on the south side are going to be closed for two months and the ramps on the north side of the bridge will be closed for three months,” Aeikens added.

In the north metro, there’s another big closure as I-694 from Victoria to Rice Street will be shut down so that crews can remove that bridge as well.

In the east metro, eastbound I-94 was previously scheduled to close this weekend, but the winter storm has now pushed that off to next weekend.

It’s all just the start of the construction dance with a different beat each weekend throughout the rest of the summer.

Throughout the summer, more than 20 construction projects in the metro are underway. There are 221 projects statewide.

You can always check the 511 App for road conditions and closures or visit 511mn.org.