Ten lanes of 35W now cut in half in-and-out of downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Interstate 35W in Minneapolis is reopening after a weekend closure between downtown and Highway 62, but it’s not a much smaller freeway. The ten lanes in and out of downtown Minneapolis from the south are now cut in half, and it will be like this for years.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has an information page with current and upcoming closures at https://www.dot.state.mn.us/35w94.

CURRENT LANE CLOSURES

5 a.m. Mon, June 18, 2018 through fall 2019

NB I-35W is reduced to three lanes from 43rd St. to downtown Minneapolis
Note: one northbound I-35W lane will be a MnPASS lane

SB I-35W is reduced to two lanes from downtown Minneapolis to 43rd St.

5 a.m. Mon, June 18 through fall

WB I-94 will be reduced to two lanes from Chicago Ave. to Nicollet Ave.

The left lane on NB I-35W is closed from 26th St. into downtown Minneapolis

CURRENT RAMP CLOSURES

Fri, June 15, 2018 through fall 2020

SB I-35W to 35th St. is closed
Detour: Continue on I-35W and take the 46th St. exit to Nicollet Ave

June 8 through fall 2018

Access to downtown (11th St/5th Ave. S/E. Grant St.) is closed from NB I-35W. Routes into downtown: EB I-394 to downtown, WB I-94 to 4th/7th St., Hiawatha Ave. to 7th St., I-35W to 3rd St/Washington Ave., 3rd St. (exit 17C). Note: When access into downtown reopens from NB I-35W, there will only be one northbound lane available to allow for ongoing construction in the area. Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes or use transit to travel in/out of downtown.

NB I-35W to 31st St/Lake St is closed to traffic, but remain open to buses
Detour: 36th St. to 3rd Ave.

June 8, 2018 through fall 2021

Access out of downtown (12th St./4th Ave.) is closed to SB I-35W. Routes out of downtown: 4th St. to I-35W, 8th St. to Hiawatha, 6th St. to EB I-94, 3rd St, WB I-394, WB I-94, Washington Ave. to I-35W. Note: In fall 2018, access out of downtown to SB I-35W will reopen only to buses; it will remain closed for all other vehicles for the duration of the project. The long-term closure is needed to allow ongoing construction in the area and to maintain effective transit operations on the limited number of available lanes on southbound I-35W. Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes or use transit to travel in/out of downtown.

EB I-94 to SB I-35W is closed
Detour: WB I-394 to SB Hwy 100 to EB Hwy 62

31st St. to SB I-35W is closed to traffic, but remain open to buses
Detour: Nicollet Ave. to 46th St.

35th St to NB I-35W is closed
Detour: Nicollet Ave. to E. Diamond Lake Rd

May 18, 2018 through fall 2021

NB I-35W to WB I-94 is closed
Detour: WB I-694, WB Hwy 62, NB Hwy 100, EB I-394

Note: There are a number of reasons this ramp is closed through fall 2021. This ramp is being fully reconstructed. Once complete, motorists will no longer merge on the right side of WB I-94; instead, motorists will merge on the left side and will have a dedicated lane through the Lowry Tunnel, helping to reduce congestion. The Lyndale Ave./Hennepin Ave. exit will still be accessible from WB I-94.
Prior to the reconstruction of the ramp, there are additional construction activities in the I-35W/I-94 junction that need to happen and will be in full swing starting in mid-June 2018. Highway lanes will be reduced and shifted at various times and construction of the new ramp piers would not allow traffic to be safely switched around.

April 23 to late-June 2018

WB I-94 to 11th St. is closed
Detour: Hennepin Ave. to 12th St.

March 2, 2018 through fall 2021

36th St. to SB I-35W is closed
Detour: Portland Ave. to 46th St.

Note: There are a number of reasons this ramp is closed through fall 2021:

During the 38th St. bridge reconstruction, there is not enough room for vehicles to safely merge from the ramp onto southbound I-35W. Once I-35W highway reconstruction work begins this summer, the number of southbound lanes will be reduced and shifted at various times while crews work for the three years after the 38th St. bridge reopens. This will make it difficult for vehicles entering from 36th St. to safely merge onto southbound I-35W.

Aug. 24, 2017 through fall 2021

5th Ave. S to NB I-35W is closed
Detour: Franklin Ave. to Cedar Ave. to Hwy 55

Aug. 24, 2017 through early July 2018

5th Ave. S to EB I-94 is closed
Detour: Franklin Ave. to Park Ave. to 6th St.

BRIDGE CLOSURES

Fri, June 15, 2018 through fall 2021

24th St. pedestrian bridge is closed over I-35W
Pedestrian Detour: 5th Ave. to 28th St. to 3rd Ave

June 1 through early November 2018

26th St. bridge is closed over I-35W
Traffic Detour: Portland Ave. to Lake St. to 1st Ave.
Pedestrian Detour: 5th Ave. to 28th St. to 3rd Ave.

March 2 through early July 2018

38th St. bridge is closed over I-35W
EB Detour: Nicollet Ave. to 36th St. to 3rd Ave. S
WB Detour: 3rd Ave. S to 35th St. to Nicollet Ave.
Bicycle Detour: 1st Ave. S (NB)/Blaisdell Ave. (SB) to 40th St. pedestrian bridge to 3rd Ave. S
Pedestrian Detour: 1st Ave. S to 40th St. pedestrian bridge to 3rd Ave. S

Sept. 18, 2017 through Sat, June 23, 2018

The EB lane on the Franklin Ave. bridge is closed over I-35W
EB Detour: Nicollet Ave. to 28th St. to Park Ave.

LOCAL STREET IMPACTS

May 2018 to fall 2018 (tentatively)

Park Ave. and Portland Ave. will have temporary restriping and a transit lane. Note: The restriping of Park Ave. and Portland Ave. (between downtown and Lake St.) to add a temporary transit lane was chosen to help reduce impacts and maintain a transit advantage for transit while the 35W@94 project is underway. This new striping is temporary; it will remain in place through fall 2018, at which point Metro Transit, MnDOT and the City of Minneapolis will assess if the transit operators are comfortable that they can again provide reliable service on I-35W. Restriping is also weather/temperature dependent, so it may need to wait until spring 2019 if the decision to move back to the permanent striping is made when it is cold out.

May 17 to mid-August 2018

Stevens Ave. is closed between 38th St. and 39th St.

March 2 to early August 2018

Intersections of Stevens Ave. and Second Ave. S are closed between 37th St. and 38th St. Note: Residents will be able to access Stevens Ave. and 2nd Ave. S from 37th St. or 39th St. During the closure, two-way traffic on Stevens Ave. between 37th St. and 38th St. will be allowed.