News Release

Roseville, Minn.— The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) will begin construction of the new westbound I-494 Bridge over the Mississippi River this spring. Two new bridges for I-494 will eventually be built over the Mississippi River, the first opening in fall 2005 and the second in fall 2007. The river bridges are part of the I-494 project that will rebuild I-494 between Concord St. in South St. Paul and Lake Road in Woodbury. The $120 million I-494 contract is part of the overall $250 million Wakota project that began construction along Highway 61 in Newport during spring and summer of 2003. Lunda Construction Company of Black River Falls, Wisc., the project winner, will rebuild I-494 and construct the bridges.

Work will begin this spring with the temporary widening of eastbound I-494, subsequently westbound traffic will be moved to the widened eastbound roadway this summer and work will then begin on the permanent westbound roadway and bridges. The temporary widening will require lane restrictions on I-494. Construction will be restricted during the peak traffic periods of 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday to help reduce congestion on I-494.

Temporary widening of Highway 61in the I-494 interchange area will also begin this spring. The temporary widening will allow southbound traffic to shift to the east so construction of the permanent southbound lanes can begin. Construction will be restricted during peak traffic periods of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday to help reduce congestion on Highway 61.

Reconstruction of the westbound I-494 exit ramp to Hardman Ave. and the Hardman Ave. entrance ramp to westbound I-494 will make it necessary to close both ramps this summer. The exit ramp to Hardman Ave. will reopen fall 2005 and the entrance ramp to I-494 will reopen in fall 2003. The Hardman /Villaume Ave. intersection will be rebuilt this spring and summer. Villaume Ave. will be closed during this construction for approximately two weeks to replace the Union Pacific Rail Road crossing and the Concord St. interchange will be the alternate route.

The river bridge construction will begin this spring with the building of a staging area on the westside of the river near the South St. Paul boat ramp. The South St. Paul boat ramp and levee trail will remain open to the public as much as possible during construction.
Construction of other portions of the Wakota project will also occur in 2003 and will affect traffic on Highway 61 and several local roads. Additional information will be provided on these traffic impacts in the coming months.