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Construction season ramping up in Minnesota

Two large MnDOT projects started in the metro this week.

MINNESOTA, USA — There are more than 30 construction projects slated to happen within the next year in the Twin Cities and two of the largest started this week.

Highway 169 will close between Interstates 394 and 694 New Hope and Plymouth will close on Friday at 10 a.m. and won't reopen until Monday at 5 a.m. Crews have already started the Rockford Road bridge and interchange project that is scheduled to be finished this fall. The project costs $19 million, as part of the redesigning includes more pedestrian and bike lanes.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation reports this stretch of Rockford Road sees roughly 25,000 drivers daily, but underneath the bridge, Hwy 169 sees closer to 80,000 daily. 

Ten miles away, the Interstate 394 exit and entrance into the North Loop has closed at Washington Avenue. MnDOT is rebuilding the ramps onto the interstate and is making slight changes to the intersections. MnDOT reports roughly 25,000 drivers pass through this area daily, in addition to hundreds of pedestrians. This project costs around $1.9 million and is scheduled to be completed by June. 

Interstate 35W won't escape construction cones this summer either. In May, MnDOT will start working on a stretch from 98th and 106th Streets. They are working to add lanes and improve ramps, sidewalks and signals. This project costs $16 million and is expected to wrap up by September. 

As more MnDOT workers hit the pavement, the department wants to remind drivers to slow down in construction zones. From 2019- 2021, 7,823 work zone crashes happened on the roads, 28 of which were fatal and 92 resulted in serious injury. MnDOT says roughly one-third of those deaths and injuries involved construction workers. 

MnDOT is planning its annual construction season announcement on Wednesday. A spokesperson says it was delayed due to the strenuous winter.

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