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MPR News Staff

MnDOT shutting I-35W this weekend, too

Motorists drive along Interstate 35W on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017.
Motorists drive along Interstate 35W on Sept. 28, 2017, in Minneapolis.
Ellen Schmidt | MPR News

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For the second straight weekend, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will shut down both directions of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis from downtown to Minnesota Highway 62 to demolish the Franklin Avenue bridge.

The highway will close starting Friday at 10 p.m. Crews will start shutting down ramps an hour before that. Southbound I-35W on and off ramps between 46th Street and 60th Street will remain open during the closure, MnDOT said.

Drivers will be detoured using Interstate 94, Interstate 394, Minnesota Highway 100 and Highway 62. I-35W is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

MnDOT said it will also close the Portland Avenue bridge over I-94 at 5 a.m. on Friday. Crews had planned to close the bridge Wednesday morning but had to reschedule due to weather. The bridge will stay closed for two months to regular car traffic, but pedestrians and bicyclists will still be able to use the bridge as will police and ambulances, MnDOT said.

"We regret that we will cause some Minnesotans significant inconveniences by closing the roadway this weekend," MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle said in a statement. "Our intent is to get the work done as quickly and as safely as we can, and get the road open again."

MnDOT also said that its planned Wednesday night closure of I-94 westbound at the Lowry Tunnel in Minneapolis has been canceled; work was finished Tuesday night, ahead of schedule.