Construction in the Twin Ports continues with work being done on the Bong Bridge and the opening of it's roundabout, the new Whole Foods Co-op in West Duluth is coming along nicely, as well as the maurices Corporation building and DTA's downtown transportation center (to name just a few).  An end is near, I just received info on the FINAL phase of the sky walk and that will prompt some more I-35 closures.

 

Hang in there!  They're in the final phase of construction and that means the I-35 closures are close to being over  This is the latest information we've received from Heath Hickok, Director of Marketing at the DTA.

As reconstruction continues you will see a lane shift on Southbound I-35 starting Tuesday, September 8 at 6:00 a.m. The on-ramp from Lake Avenue along with the right lane on Southbound I-35 will be closed at that time. The left lane on Southbound I-35 will be open for thru traffic. Additionally, the frontage road alongside Southbound I-35 from 1st Avenue West to 5th Avenue West is currently closed. These closures are expected to last three weeks or less.

This will be the detour route you'll be using during these closures are as follows:

Traffic coming from downtown Duluth or Canal Park will access Southbound I-35 via the 5th Avenue West on-ramp rather than the Lake Avenue on-ramp. Traffic from Canal Park will be routed via Railroad Street and 5th Avenue West. Traffic from other areas will travel to 5th Avenue West to re-enter the freeway via the on-ramp.

The Duluth Transit Authority’s (DTA) DECC & Downtown Shuttle Bus (Route 22) will continue to run on Railroad Street during weekdays with the main DECC stop located just below the Northwest Passage.  I saw this while I was in the canal running and thought 'what a great way for people who work downtown to get to know each other'.  I'm sure they don't think of it that way it's probably more of an inconvenience in their day, but if you think about it when you walk through the sky walk you may smile at someone but not converse.  If you are on a 10 minute bus ride through the city next to someone you might be prompted to strike up a friendly conversation, especially since you're both experiencing the same inconvenience.

Thank you to Heath Hickok, the DTA Director of Marketing for diligently sharing this information with us, so we can keep you in the know.

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