Minnesota 610 opens this morning in Maple Grove

Project completion details

I-694/I-94 now has a complete bypass across the Northern suburbs of the Twin City Metro area. MN 610 opened this morning connecting I 94 in Maple Grove to the existing highway through Brooklyn Park, Mississippi river crossing, Coon Rapids, Blaine and Mounds View at I-35W. Make sure to check it out as a great alternative route.

It’s like all the holidays, plus a few birthdays, all rolled together!!  The long-awaited final stretch of Hwy 610 is slated to open to traffic early tomorrow afternoon (12/9). The new 2.5 mile roadway will fill in the gap between Elm Creek Blvd and I-94 in Maple Grove, allowing you to travel through the northern Twin Cities suburbs unimpeded between I-35W in Mounds View and I-94 in Maple Grove.

Hwy 610 has been built in segments over the past 30 years as outlined below:

• In 1986, the first segment, between Hwy 252 and the junctions of Hwy 47 and Hwy 10, was completed
• In 1999, a second segment extended to Hwy 10 and to Hwy 169
• In 2002, a third segment was the addition of the second Mississippi River bridge, which gave each direction of the road a four-lane bridge
• In 2008, the Elm Creek Blvd/Co Rd 81 interchange was completed with the realignment of Co Rd 81 and the roundabout entrance to Hennepin County's Three Rivers Park
• In 2011, the fourth segment of Hwy 610, from Hwy 169 to Elm Creek Blvd was completed 
• In 2014, crews began work on the fifth, and final segment, extending Hwy 610  from Elm Creek Blvd to I-94

The $80 million expansion of Hwy 610 in Maple Grove is one of the Corridors of Commerce initiatives to reduce travel times and improve safety. It will also help businesses transport their products more efficiently to meet the needs of our state’s growing economy. The new highway corridor also will help continue economic growth and create jobs within the northwest Twin Cities suburbs.

Although the road will open before rush hour tomorrow (12/9), we will still have some work to complete, including the removal of the 101st Ave. bridge spanning I-94, clean up and finishing some final details.

Upcoming closure

The closure of the 101st Ave. bridge will begin next Friday evening, Dec. 16 and go through Sunday morning, Dec. 18. It will require a closure of I-94 beneath the bridge. Please follow the detour of the new Hwy 610 and Hwy 169.

More about this project

If you’d like more information on the Hwy 610 project, please visit mndot.gov/metro/projects/610west.

 Information on the Corridors of Commerce program, including a comprehensive list of projects being funded through this project statewide, is available at www.mndot.gov/corridorsofcommerce.