The Minnesota Department of Transportation this week laid out plans to rebuild a portion of Hwy. 280 in Roseville next spring, and it turns out that's just the start of what should be an ambitious construction season in the east metro.
In April or May, MnDOT will close both directions of Hwy. 280 between Broadway Street and I-35W for six weeks to rebuild ramps at the I-35W interchange.
When the full closure is lifted, Hwy. 280 will be reduced to a single lane in each direction until the $3.3 million project is complete.
The project also includes repairing and resurfacing Hwy. 280 in both directions between I-35W and Como Avenue, rebuilding the approach from Como Avenue to Hwy. 280, installing a concrete median barrier and new guardrails north of Larpenteur Avenue.
One thing that won't change: The stoplight at Broadway Street will stay put, said spokesman Kent Barnard.
Further to the east, motorists will likely encounter slow downs when work on replacing the structurally-deficient bridge over Lexington Avenue gets underway. MnDOT will replace the bridge with two separate bridges, one each for eastbound and westbound traffic. MnDOT will keep two lanes of Hwy. 36 open in both directions by shifting traffic onto a temporary bypass.
Lexington Avenue will be closed for four to five months when the bridges are built. The $12 million project also includes resurfacing Hwy. 36 between Hamline Avenue and Victoria Street and a number of ramps in between will be closed for several weeks to months, MnDOT said.
While this is going on, MnDOT will resurface I-35W between Hwy. 36 and I-694 and start replacing or redecking several bridges on I-94 between Cretin Avenue and Victoria Street.
Oh, and that's on top of a major refurbishing project on I-94 from downtown St. Paul to Century Avenue in Maplewood that will take two years to complete.
"There is a lot of work jammed into that area," Barnard said. "We have so much work to do."
