I-94 Closing In St. Paul This Weekend
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Road work is about to completely close a busy stretch of Minnesota interstate for the entire weekend.
Starting 10 p.m. Friday, Interstate 94 is shutting down in both directions between the Twin Cities. The interstate isn't scheduled to reopen until 5 a.m. Monday morning.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said I-94 will be closed between Highway 280 and Interstate 35E. Crews there are working on the Snelling Avenue Bridge.
The closing could be a big headache for people if they do not plan ahead. MnDOT hopes people pay attention to detours or get out of their cars and use light rail to travel between the two cities.
Matt Kramer with the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce said the inconvenience will be great for those planning to attend the handful of events going on in the capital city.
"One hundred fifty-eight thousand cars a day go on 94 between the two cities," he said. "Neil Diamond, Roller Girls, the American Craft Festival over at the RiverCentre -- a lot of things are happening in downtown St. Paul and, of course, in downtown Minneapolis as well."
Don't forget the writers conference in Minneapolis. There will be more than 15,000 visitors who may want to explore that city on the other side of the river.
Motorists in the Twin Cities are losing a number of main thoroughfares in the metro area this weekend.
The stretch of Interstate 494 between I-394 and I-94 will be affected by closures this weekend as well.
Northbound 494 will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. Southbound will close at 10 p.m. Sunday and remain closed overnight.
Mille Segal and her friend, Sandy Davis Lerner, are from Minneapolis, and they say closing the interstate is a big inconvenience for them. They plan on following the detours to get back and forth.
"We're going to go to the history center," Segal said. "We want to see the show there and we'll probably take Snelling all the way."
The closure is being done so Xcel Energy can remove power lines below the Snelling Avenue bridge.
This weekend will be the first of several closures of this stretch of highway.
The next weekend closure happens in mid-May. Just like this weekend, crews hope to work fast, so it can be re-open by 5 a.m Monday.
This weekend, MnDOT said drivers should instead use Highway 36 to get between I-35E and 280.