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The planned weekend closing of southbound Interstate 35E in the Twin Cities' northeast metro area has been postponed because of the threat of rain, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said Thursday.

MnDOT had planned to close the southbound roadway from Friday night until early Monday to repair joints in the highway's concrete surface between the I-35 split in Columbus and I-694 in Vadnais Heights. The joints allow the pavement to expand and contract with changing temperatures, preventing cracks. The northbound lanes were repaired last weekend.

If the weather cooperates, the southbound lanes will close at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, and reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30.

During next weekend's closing, motorists will be detoured south on I-35W and then east on I-694.

If next weekend's forecast calls for bad weather, work will again be postponed until the following weekend. For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit www.511mn.org.

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