Major road closure on Interstate 94 in St. Paul over the weekend

Beginning tonight at 10, I-94 westbound from 35E to Highway 280 in St. Paul will be closed all weekend.

The reason for the closure is there are numerous maintenance activities to take care of, Kent Barnard with the Minnesota Department of Transportation explains it's all for maintenance.

"We're going to get out and inspect and repair bridge decks," Barnard said. "We're also going to be cleaning and repairing the storm sewer drainage structures. Hopefully we'll get a lot of the vegetation mowed down and out of the way. We're also going to be repairing and replacing the lighting along the interstate and removing the graffiti."

Of course, there will be detours.

"North on 35E up to Highway 36, and then head westbound on highway 36, then back south on highway 280," Barnard says could be one option. "Or, depending upon how far you are going to be traveling, you could just head on to southbound 35W."

The closure will last no later than 5:00 a.m. on Monday, but could open sooner if crews are extremely efficient.

Barnard says they wanted to pick a weekend light on activities.

"We get out there as it's needed," says Barnard. "We also try to look for a weekend where there's not going to be a lot of activity, sports, activity, for example, or community festivals. And we try to maximize the amount of work we get done because we do realize that it's going to have a fairly large impact on traffic."

In addition, eastbound Highway 36 between I-35W and I-35E will also be closed during the same timeframe making it even tougher if you're going that direction over the weekend.

I-94 CLOSURE

Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, the westbound lanes of I-94 will close between I-35E and Highway 280 in St. Paul through 5 a.m. Mon, Sept. 9, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. There will also be no access to the westbound interstate through the project area.

HWY 36 CLOSURE

Repairs and resurfacing will resume this weekend on eastbound Hwy 36 between I-35W in Roseville and I-35E in Little Canada, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The eastbound lanes of the highway will close at 9 p.m. Fri., Sept. 6 and remain closed until 5 a.m. Mon., Sept. 9. During the closure, traffic will detour north on I-35W, east on I-694 and south on I-35E.