MnDOT to mark end of I-35W-Highway 62 reconstruction
Workers are putting the finishing touches on reconstruction of the Interstate 35W and Highway 62 interchange in the south metro.
A ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the end of the four-year project will take place Saturday at Pearl Park in Minneapolis.
MnDOT program director Tom O'Keefe said the project involved multiple improvements, including separating the roadways and eliminating the forced weave for drivers continuing on either road. The construction project also got rid of most left-side entrances and exits.
The last of the new lanes will open next Friday, but O'Keefe said drivers might see signs of construction into next spring.
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"There'll be cleanup activities continuing into next construction season, but relatively early in next construction season we'll be out of there altogether," he told MPR's Morning Edition.
The project cost more than $250 million dollars and was the most expensive road project in Minnesota history.
Officials started planning how to improve the convergence of the two roads in the mid-1990s, but it took many years for officials to come up with a plan that had enough support from state lawmakers.
About 10 years ago, the interchange was named one of the worst bottlenecks in the country by travel group AAA.
(MPR's Cathy Wurzer contributed to this report.)