MnDOT gonna MnDOT

It's going to be a busy weekend in the Twin Cities. The Twins, Vikings, and Gophers are all playing at home. It's the Twin Cities Marathon. And there are other events, too, including our home marching band show for Irondale. But if you want to get around in the Twin Cities this weekend, MnDOT has a message for you -- tough luck:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will shut down both directions of Interstate 35W between Crosstown Hwy. 62 and downtown Minneapolis from Friday night through Monday morning. It’s a weekend that features Sunday’s big 26.2-mile race between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul, along with a Vikings game Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium; Twins games Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Target Field; and a University of Minnesota football game Saturday at the U. And the Wild plays at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday night.

Sporting events aside, I-35W already handles about 200,000 vehicles a day. So all that extra traffic will have to spread out on alternate routes, meaning drivers will be on an endurance test of their own.

“There is no real good time to close a major interstate, but it’s usually easier to do it on a weekend rather than during the week,” said MnDOT spokeswoman Denise Workcuff.

On most weekends, that’s likely true, but there might not be a worse weekend than this one to close the busiest freeway in the metro area.

MnDOT knows they are screwing people, but they don't care:

MnDOT said that it was aware of the events calendar but that it was moving ahead with the freeway closure in order to move utilities and prepare for the demolition of the Franklin Avenue bridge. That will bring another I-35W closure next weekend.

And the ripple effects won't be pleasant either, especially when the Marathon is underway:

On Sunday morning, the area on the east end of downtown Minneapolis from 5th Avenue S. to 11th Avenue S. and from S. 3rd Street to S. 7th Street will be closed as runners queue up next to U.S. Bank Stadium for the 34th annual marathon.

And then it gets worse:

Streets will be blocked off for the race until about 9 a.m. As they reopen, other streets around the stadium will shut down before the noon kickoff for the Vikings game against the Detroit Lions.

Other south Minneapolis routes remain blocked, too. The Cedar and Portland avenue bridges over the Midtown Greenway remain closed, eliminating those as viable north-south options. Hiawatha Avenue could see heavy levels of traffic.

With Franklin Avenue closed over I-35W, those drivers are being diverted to 26th and 28th streets, with Hennepin being a likely receiver of drivers trying to get into downtown Minneapolis.

Yep, let's jam a few thousand more cars through Uptown. That'll be great.

Yes, these are First World Problems. People in San Juan wouldn't have much sympathy for our plight. It's the bureaucratic indifference that rankles. Your time isn't as valuable as MnDOT's. Just so you know. But have a nice weekend!