MINNEAPOLIS – March 25, 2011 – Two Interstate 35W ramps will close for several months as crews prepare to build a bridge over the interstate to join Central Corridor and Hiawatha Light Rail Transit tracks.
On Wednesday, the Fourth Street ramp to southbound I-35W will close until July 2011. The alternate route is the entrance ramp from eastbound Washington Avenue to southbound 35W. On April 4, the ramp from northbound I-35W to the Washington Avenue East Bank exit will close until the end of November 2012. An alternate route to the East Bank will be the Fourth Street SE/University Avenue SE exit from I-35W.
West River Parkway to close for two days in April
Other closures are in store for adjacent areas to the east.
Work to strengthen the Washington Avenue Bridge to carry Central Corridor trains will close West River Parkway and the adjacent bike trail April 5 and 6. These closures will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. The closures will facilitate work on the bridge piers.
Cedar ramp to westbound Third to close mid-April to mid-September
In mid to late April, work will close the Cedar Avenue ramp to westbound Third Street until mid-September 2011 when it will reopen in a new configuration with two-way traffic. Detour information will be provided in future weekly construction updates for Minneapolis at www.centralcorridor.org under the construction section.
The work will relocate the Metro Transit bus stop to the southwest ramp; no other changes are planned to bus service as a result of the ramp closure. This work is the first phase of rebuilding the ramps and creating a signalized intersection just west of Cedar Avenue. Central Corridor tracks will be built in the middle of Washington Avenue under Cedar Avenue where they will turn and head south to where they will merge with Hiawatha tracks on an existing bridge over I-35W between the Cedar Riverside and Metrodome stations.
More detailed information will be made available about additional ramp closures and detours for this area at www.centralcorridor.org and distributed via a weekly electronic construction update.
Media Contact
Laura Baenen
Communications Manager
Central Corridor LRT Project
651-602-1797 (office)
612-269-4365 (cell)
[email protected]