Another summer weekend brings a fresh freeway closure for south metro drivers. This time it’s Interstate 494 between Hwy. 100 and Cedar Avenue/Hwy. 77.
MnDOT will shut down the freeway in both directions from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. Ramps along the 5-mile segment through Richfield and Bloomington will begin closing at 8 p.m. Friday, the agency said.
Motorists will be directed to use Crosstown Hwy. 62 as an east-west alternative.
During the closure, crews plan to complete the new pedestrian bridge over I-494 near Chicago Avenue and remove the Portland Avenue bridge, which will be rebuilt.
The work is tied into a larger $377 million project that includes adding an E-ZPass lane between Hwy. 100 and I-35, rebuilding the interchange at I-35W and I-494, rebuilding several other bridges and improving pavement.
All work is weather-dependent, MnDOT said. The forecast calls for warm and dry with highs in the 80s, so plan on it happening as scheduled.
A repeat closure along the same stretch of road is scheduled for the following weekend.
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