Twin Cities Marathon road closures: How to get around on Sunday

Getting across town is no easy feat during the Twin Cities Marathon with road closures in both Minneapolis and St. Paul during the big race on Sunday.

As thousands of runners make their way from downtown Minneapolis to the State Capitol, the easiest way for motorists to bypass the race course is to use interstates 94 and 35W. Transit users can opt for the Blue or Green lines as several bus routes will be affected Sunday morning and into the afternoon.

Of course, drivers in the urban core have to get to the freeway to use it. The best north-south route to get across the course is Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis and Grand Avenue or Ayd Mill Road in St. Paul. Motorists needing an east-west crossing can use the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge and the Ford Parkway bridge via 46th Street connecting south Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Streets around the State Capitol close Thursday and won’t reopen until after the race. Summit Avenue east of Snelling Avenue in St. Paul will close Saturday when some of the weekend festivities take place.

In Minneapolis, downtown streets will close early Sunday. Several parkways will be off-limits to vehicles Sunday morning during the 10-mile and 26.2-mile races. Streets along the race course will reopen on a rolling basis as participants move from west to east.

Several Metro Transit routes will be on detour from 6 a.m. until mid-afternoon Sunday. Those include the A Line, C Line and D Line rapid bus routes. Other local routes running through south Minneapolis and parts of St. Paul also will be on detour. Check here for Metro Transit alerts.