Minnesota road construction 2026: 200 projects, $1.5B in spending
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MnDOT commissioner Nancy Daubenberger stands in front of the John Ireland Boulevard bridge project site. Photo: Nick Halter/Axios
Major road construction projects are kicking off across Minnesota as drivers prepare for another robust season of closures, detours and migraines.
The big picture: MnDOT says the 2026 construction season includes 200 road and bridge projects, with a budget of $1.5 billion — on par with previous years.
Here are some of the big ones to watch as you tune up your bike or recharge your Metro Transit card.
Highway 65: The days of stop-and-go traffic lights in Blaine are coming to an end as crews kick off a five-year, $200 million project to convert four at-grade interchanges into a freeway.
- Details on traffic effects are coming, but MnDOT says to expect closures and detours.
Highway 280: Crews will resurface the entire highway and will also repair and resurface bridges.
- Northbound traffic will close on April 13 and southbound traffic will close in late April. MnDOT hopes to reopen in time for the State Fair in late August.
Highway 12: The west metro thoroughfare will get a complete rebuild around downtown Wayzata and resurfacing and repairs between County Road 101 and I-494.
- Expect lane reductions and ramp closures.
Several major projects are entering their final year.
- St. Paul's I-94 project will end with the rebuilding of the John Ireland Boulevard bridge as one of the final pieces.
- The I-35W project in Burnsville will wrap up this fall after more lane reductions and a Cliff Road detour.
- And the headache-inducing I-94/I-394 project between downtown Minneapolis and Highway 100 will come to an end this fall as well. Lane reductions are already underway.
The bottom line: State officials urged motorists to plan ahead and State Patrol Lt. Mike Lee urged drivers to pay attention and slow down.
- He noted there were more than 13,000 work-zone-related crashes statewide between 2019 and 2024, resulting in 4,200 injuries and 50 fatalities.
Four more years for I-494 construction
The good news is that this is the last summer of a four-year construction project on I-494 between the airport and Edina.
- The bad news is that MnDOT has added a second phase that will run from 2027 to 2030.
Why it matters: Many motorists thought the end was near but are now discovering the south metro freeway will be under construction for eight straight years.
What they're saying: MnDOT spokesperson Nick Carpenter said the second phase was added in 2024 because the agency got a $138 million federal grant allowing for the completion of a longer-term, $750 million vision for the freeway.
- If that money hadn't come in 2024, MnDOT had planned on a multiyear gap between phases.
Details: The phase that begins in 2027 will add EZ Pass lanes between 35W and Highway 77 as well as between highways 169 and 100.
- More interchanges and bridges will be reconstructed and replaced.
- The project also includes pavement restoration and bridge rehabs.
Between the lines: As has mostly been the case with the first phase, expect MnDOT to maintain three lanes of traffic in each direction, aside from short reductions to two lanes, Carpenter said.