MnDOT’s 2024 to-do list includes nearly 200 road and bridge projects

The recent cool and snowy weather has slowed the start of road construction season, but in the coming days motorists will start feeling the pinch as the Minnesota Department of Transportation gets started on slate of new projects across the state, and resumes others it didn’t finish last year.

Lane closures will kick in Thursday on I-94 between Oakdale and Woodbury in the east metro. Ramps from eastbound I-494 to northbound Hwy. 100 and southbound Hwy. 100 to eastbound I-494 will shut down Sunday as the major rebuild of I-494 through Edina, Richfield and Bloomington resumes.

They are some of the first places drivers will see “Road Closed“ signs as MnDOT plans to carry out 193 road and bridge projects over the next six months. The agency is also conducting 54 others to improve conditions at railroad crossings, airports and water ports and improve transit infrastructure. The total cost is $1.6 billion.

“Drivers throughout Minnesota can expect to see more work zones, more orange cones, more closed lanes and more people working along the road wearing their high-visibility gear,” said Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger.

With that, Daubenberger is pleading with motorists to obey speed limits in work zones, avoid using cellphones and engaging in other distracting behaviors, and be patient as traffic jams and delays are possible.

“We become safer together as we share the limited space inside work zones,” she said.

Since 1960, 36 MnDOT workers and 16 contractors have been killed in work zones on state highways and freeways. The deaths do not include any that occurred on county, city or township roads.

For the third and final year, MnDOT will be resurfacing I-94 in the east metro. The agency also is adding an additional eastbound lane from I-494 to Woodbury Drive. Ramps to and from I-494 to westbound I-94 will be closed April 10 through mid-July.

This year, drivers will find narrower lanes in the construction zone and wider shoulders, said spokeswoman Denise Workcuff. The move comes after narrow shoulders last year contributed to a handful of rollover crashes involving semitrailer trucks in the work zone.

To the north, MnDOT will resurface Hwy. 36 between Edgerton Street in Little Canada and I-35W in Roseville, meaning motorists will face lane and ramp closures all summer. The highway carrying up to 80,000 vehicles a day will be closed in each direction for three weekends, which have yet to be announced.

Drivers on I-494 in the south metro will feel the squeeze again as MnDOT continues building an EZ Pass lane, repairing bridges, modifying interchanges and rebuilding the I-35W/I-494 interchange. Motorists will encounter lane closures on the freeway and detours on nearby roads. American Boulevard, which runs parallel to I-494, will be closed to through traffic between Hwy. 100 and France Avenue.

Snow delayed the start of work on Hwy. 169 in Elk River — it was set to start last week — but it begins this week. The highway will be reduced to a single lane for the summer, meaning a trip to the cabin could take a bit longer.

Large projects outside the metro include rebuilding the Hwy. 25 bridge over the Mississippi River in Monticello, pavement and bridge work on I-35 between the Twin Cities and Duluth, and rebuilding the I-90/Hwy. 52 interchange east of Rochester.