By Anne Holzman
The Lauderdale City Council heard a presentation on July 8 about the plan to close Highway 280 for repairs from April to October next year.
The entire stretch will be closed, except for a temporary reopening during the staging of the Minnesota State Fair.
Minnesota Department of Transportation engineer Chris Bower, a Lauderdale resident, explained that in order to prevent traffic flowing onto city streets, MnDOT will not open any stretches of the roadway until they can reopen the whole thing.
The 2026 construction work will include repairs to storm drains, bridges and pavement.
Bower said that work near the I-94 interchange will be a light repaving, since major realignment of that interchange is expected once work on that section of I-94 begins in about five years. He said the northbound off-ramp at Energy Park Drive will be realigned to improve visibility to the left at Energy Park.
Other parts of Highway 280 will be more thoroughly rebuilt. Bower said the most complex and time-consuming portion will be repairs to the bridge over the University of Minnesota transitway and the Burlington Northern rail yard. He said work stops there every time a train passes. The U of M Transitway will close briefly to motor traffic but will remain open for bikes and pedestrians.
Cross streets will remain open while Highway 280 is closed. In 2028, MNDOT and the counties and cities will improve the street crossings along 280 for bike and pedestrian as well as motor vehicle use.
Bower acknowledged the inconvenience of multiple road projects for motorists and assured the Lauderdale council, “There is a strategy. We do think about this.”
Bower said MnDOT has begun working with businesses along the highway to plan alternate routes for them. The most affected is the PACAL industrial site, which has long relied on the Broadway entrance for access to area highways. Because of a median that blocks left turns from the eastbound lanes of Broadway into PACAL, MnDOT will build a temporary truck turnaround there.
Patrons and employees of other businesses along the route will be encouraged to use established truck routes. In an interview in early August, Bower told the Bugle that county and city roads have various weight limits posted that will help guide truck traffic.
“Energy Park and Snelling are great roads designed for truck traffic,” he said. “We will be encouraging businesses to use those roads.”
Bower added that about 50 trees will be removed next summer in the Highway 280 construction area and won’t be replaced because they’ve sprung up in undesirable locations.
Bower said anyone who’s interested can find construction updates and contact information on the MnDOT website. There is also an email list signup for project updates.
He said neighbors concerned about traffic during construction can start by calling or emailing MnDOT, and they will assess whether city, county or state jurisdictions are involved and direct the caller to the best entity.
For MnDOT project updates visit www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy280stpaul-roseville/index.html.
Anne Holzman is a regular Bugle freelance writer who covers Falcon Heights and Lauderdale city news.
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A section of Highway 280 is slated for construction closure during the spring to early fall in 2026. Map by Minnesota Department of Transportation.
