Traffic Changes Coming For I-35 In Duluth Starting in October

Whether you drive it every day as part of your commute or you just pass through once in a while, this is the road construction news many have been waiting for: The Minnesota Department of Transportation has announced that they will be making lane shifts for I-35 within the Twin Ports Interchange Project.

Yes, the newly-constructed northbound lanes in that area will be opening to traffic; the southbound lanes will also move off of the Lower Michigan Street Bypass - although not quite yet.

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation are alerting drivers that the northbound lanes of I-35 within the Twin Ports Interchange Project area will shift to their rightful place "on or around" Saturday, October 1.

In addition, the northbound on-ramp to I-35 from 27th Avenue West will also be reopening at that time.

That leaves the southbound lanes of I-35 in the Twin Ports Interchange Project area still on their bypass route - along Lower Michigan Street.  That will also be coming to an end soon - with traffic flow moved back onto the I-35 corridor, it's their rightful southbound lanes.  The Minnesota Department of Transportation is estimating that this traffic configuration change will happen on Monday October 17.

Even though drivers are urged to always be alert and observant while traveling through this (or any) road construction project, they're also suggesting that drivers be extra-alert as those traffic configurations change over the next few weeks. The state transportation agency will do their best to change the routes when there are less impacts to traffic flow.  Watch for signage that will alert you to the changes as they happen.

Although both the north and the south-bound lanes of I-35 will be going back to their "normal" routes for the end of the season, that doesn't mean that the project is complete. Work will continue throughout the winter months as MNDOT aims to wrap up this multi-year project.