Rock band Bon Jovi just might croon its popular song "Have a Nice Day" during its Saturday night concert at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. Motorists, on the other hand, will likely be singing a different tune as they navigate around a slew of road construction projects.
The weather looks to be great for Saturday's Get in Gear races along West River Parkway from Minnehaha Park up to Portland Avenue and for the Songkran Uptown Block Party on Hennepin Avenue between 31st and Lagoon avenues.
Look for extra traffic around Target Field where the Twins play Cincinnati Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It will be busy near TCF Bank Stadium at the U of M where the Loons have a game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
This weekend brings a closure on Park Avenue from Lake Street to 14th Street. From 7 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, crews will restripe the road with a bus only lane that Metro Transit and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority buses will use when I-35W construction kicks into full gear later this summer. The Park Avenue detour takes drivers over to Chicago Avenue. Portland Avenue will close next weekend.
Here are other notable closures that could hamper travel this weekend:
Downtown Minneapolis: The ramps from westbound I-94 to 11th Street, eastbound I-394 to westbound I-94 and northbound Lyndale Avenue to westbound I-94 are closed for two months.
Bridge outs over I-35W: No crossing on the 38th Street or Franklin Avenue bridges in south Minneapolis.
Penn Avenue in north Minneapolis: Three closures related to construction of the C-Line bus rapid transit line are in place: 26th to Lowry avenues, 17th to 21st avenues and 12th to 14th avenues
Hwy. 169 in Champlin: Expect periodic lane closures between Hwy. 610 and East Hayden Lake Road ahead of major reconstruction set to start in early May.
I-35 in Columbus and Forest Lake: Northbound will be reduced to two lanes from Hwy. 97 to Hwy. 8 through August. Ramps at Hwy. 97 and Broadway will remain open.
Hwy. 10 in Elk River: Eastbound reduced to one lane and westbound to two lanes and sometimes one for between Joplin Street and Upland Avenue.
Hwy. 149/Smith Avenue in St. Paul: The High Bridge as its known is shut down until December.
66th Street in Richfield: Closed to through traffic between Cedar and Xerxes avenues S.
Hwy. 50 in Farmington: Closed 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday between Hwys. 3 and 56.
