FOREST LAKE, Minn. — All road construction projects are bound to inconvenience somebody, but a concrete repair job that will unfold over the next couple of weeks promises a major impact on motorists.
Work was originally scheduled to begin until Monday, July 29, but the schedule was moved up to begin multiple lane closures on Friday.
Here's the breakdown:
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) said southbound I-35 at Forest Lake will be reduced to a single lane from Broadway Avenue and the I-35 split from 6 p.m. Friday, July 26 through 10 a.m. Sunday, July 28.
Later Friday - at 10 p.m. - northbound traffic on I-35 will be reduced to one lane in the same location. That situation will run until 5 a.m. Monday, July 29.
On Monday, July 29, work on the southbound lanes will slide a bit further north, with traffic reduced to one lane from a half mile north of Highway 8 to Highway 8. The lane closures - expected to last approximately two weeks - are to allow crews to perform concrete repair work. If there is a nugget of good news, it's that all lanes will reopen Sundays to handle the crush of folks returning from up north.
MnDOT urges all drivers to plan ahead for the closures and to be attentive, cautious and easy on their speed while moving through construction zones.
All road construction activity is weather-dependent and subject to change.
For more on this project and others taking place across the state, check out the MnDOT website.