Sports Fans Feel Impact Of I-35W Weekend Closure
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Summer is over, but sadly, road construction season is not.
A "Downtown to Crosstown" closure of Interstate 35W from Highway 62 to Interstate 94 is in effect until Monday morning, and it is delaying sports fans all weekend long.
Making the trip from Lonsdale to Minneapolis for the Gopher women's volleyball game took a different turn for Josh Kes and his family. They were delayed 20 minutes because of the closure.
"There's cones everywhere, it never ends," Kes said.
The closure comes as the University of Minnesota has multiple college sports games being played on campus on Saturday, and a massive soccer match on Sunday.
TCF Bank Stadium will host the Minnesota United soccer team for the last time before the team moves into Allianz Field. More than 50,000 are expected to cheer on the Loons there on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. -- but they can't take the interstate to get there.
"People are going to need to plan ahead, give themselves some extra time, pick a route, figure out where they are going and please be patient," said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesperson Dave Aeikens.
In order to get around the closure, MnDOT suggests taking a loop from Highway 62 to Highway 100 to I-394.
Unfortunately, the gridlock and the detours are not over yet. Two more "Downtown to Crosstown" closures are scheduled in November.
This weekend's closure will wrap up on Monday morning at 5 a.m.
It's not all bad news though. One lane of the 11th Street ramp into downtown will re-open Monday morning.
The Minnesota United has some tips to make your trip easier.
More information on the I-35W reconstruction project can be found on MnDOT's website.