Weekend Twin Cities traffic woes mix in a little hope, cheaper gas
Twin Cities drivers will find lane closures and assorted hassles on the roads this weekend, although it's better than past weeks. And there's also a little good news for those driving Minnesota Highway 5.
Highway 5 over the Mississippi River — a traffic choke point into St. Paul the past few months as crews reconstruct the bridge deck — will reopen to four lanes starting at 7 p.m. tonight.
Here's the Minnesota Department of Transportation's look at projects that may cause delays the next few days.
• I-35E in St. Paul and Little Canada. The ramp from southbound I-35E to southbound Minnesota Highway 52 is closed through November 2015. The closure is now part of the I-35E Corridor project. There are many lane and ramp closures in the area.
• Interstate 35W at County Road 96 in Arden Hills. The ramp from northbound I-35W to County Road 96 and the ramp from County Road 96 to southbound I-35W are closed until October. County Road 96 is a single lane in each direction across the interstate.
• U.S. Highway 169 in Jordan. Highway 169 between Minnesota Highways 21 and 282 is reduced to a single lane with a speed limit of 45 mph through late October.
Also, the website TwinCitiesGasPrices.com reports regular unleaded gas prices averaging $2.38 a gallon around the metropolitan area with some stations offering gas at less than $2.20. A year ago, gas was averaging $3.31 a gallon.
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