Commuters brace yourselves! If you're planning to navigate the eastern stretches of Highway 55 this weekend, think again. MnDOT is shutting it down. The eastbound lanes from the I-494 east ramp to West Medicine Lake Drive will be totally off-limits starting 10 p.m. this Friday, May 17, until the early hours of Monday, May 20, at 5 a.m., according to a news release on the City of Plymouth website.
Why the sudden roadblock? It's part of MnDOT's larger plan to spruce up Highway 55's pavement—an effort that desperately needed to get done. Crews will be knee-deep in pipework to make that stretch smoother for your daily commute. To avoid getting stuck, you're going to want to detour using southbound I-494, to just quickly hop onto eastbound I-394, and then slide right onto northbound Highway 169 back onto track.
For those living locally and wondering how they're going to reach their homes, fret not. You'll still have access across Highway 55 to catch the westbound lanes. It's just the eastbound traffic that's getting the red light this time around. So, local errands aren't entirely off the table.
There's a detour map if you want to visually plot your new router. The regional detour map is available in PDF for those who fancy keeping it old school with printed directions.
We're talking road work that's non-negotiable for the health of our highways, but know this: come Monday morning, it's back to smooth sailing—or, well, driving—on Highway 55.
