Work crews, front loaders and hot asphalt have been familiar sights this week along Flying Cloud Drive from Valley View Road south to Eden Road.
Based upon information gleaned from Southwest Light Rail Project sources, EPLN suggests that the steaming asphalt is a sign that two years of orange and white traffic barrels along one of Eden Prairie’s busiest arteries may disappear in November, maybe by Thanksgiving.
The following updates are of immediate concern to motorists.
Closures
Thursday, Oct. 28
Weather permitting, Technology Drive will be closed at the intersection of Flying Cloud Drive. Crews will be hauling steel rails across the road. Follow detour signs.
Friday, Oct. 29
Weather permitting, the Viking Drive stub on the west side of Flying Cloud Drive will be intermittently closed for 10 to 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Crews will be moving rails over the entryway to Comfort Inn and Residence Inn. Flaggers will direct traffic during the closures.
Thursday, Oct. 28 and Friday Oct. 29
The SWLRT Project anticipates the closure of one eastbound lane of Prairie Center Drive between the Highway 212 off-ramp and Technology Drive.
Ongoing
The westbound Highway 212 off-ramp to Shady Oak Road remains closed through the construction season.
An eastbound lane of Highway 62 between Highway 212 and Shady Oak Road remains closed until further notice.
Reopening
West 70th Street in the Golden Triangle has been reopened for the winter.
SouthWest Station
A few weeks back, a large crew of workers and a construction crane installed cross over switches on the track approach to SouthWest Station’s train and bus passenger platforms.
An enormous crane arced over the barrier wall that separates car traffic on ramps to and from Highway 212/5 and Prairie Center Drive. Located to the right of the tracks are the station parking ramps and the Elevate residential complex.
Minnetonka/Opus
Smetana Road reopened with completion of its bridge over the light rail alignment on Oct. 19. Feitl Road will remain closed until the spring of 2022.
The Opus area has a number of closures and detours which are identified by the Minnetonka Public Works Office here.
Check out the SWLRT Project website here for more info and detour maps for Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis.
Send your questions and comments to:
1) SWLRT Outreach Coordinator James Mockovciak James.Mockovciak@metrotransit.org
2) C24-Hour Construction Hotline at 612-373-3933.
3) Website: swlrt.org
Note: Writer Jeff Strate serves on EPLN’s Board of Directors. From February 2015 through February 2017, Strate served on the SWLRT Community Advisory Committee as an at-large member.