Bloomington, Richfield I-494 closure starts this weekend

Part of I-494 closing for the weekend

Drivers will need to find an alternate route through Bloomington as a stretch of I-494 will close Friday night until early Monday morning.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A busy section of Interstate 494 in Bloomington and Richfield is set to close this weekend.

Highway closure

A project report from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) says that starting at 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, a westbound section of I-494 between Highway 77 and Interstate 35W will close until 5 a.m. on Monday.

An eastbound section of I-494 between Highway 100 and Highway 77 will also close at 10 p.m. Friday and opens at 5 a.m. on Monday.

Ramp closures are set to begin at 8 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. During this time, all ramps along westbound I-494 between Highway 77 and I-35W, as well as ramps along eastbound I-494 between Highway 100 and Highway 77 will be closed.

Detours available

Drivers heading west on I-494 can use the northbound lanes of Highway 100 to westbound Highway 62, to southbound Highway 100, then to westbound I-494 as a detour.

Eastbound travelers may use northbound Highway 100 to eastbound Highway 62, to southbound Highway 77, then to eastbound I-494 as a detour.

These closures are part of MnDOT's project to construct E-ZPass lanes on I-494 from Highway 100 to I-35W in each direction. More information on the project can be found here.