The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that motorists traveling on Interstate 494 in Plymouth and Maple Grove may encounter slow moving traffic weekday evenings and throughout the upcoming weekend as crews reduce some stretches of the road to a single lane.

Beginning Aug. 11, there will be nightly weekday lane restrictions on westbound and eastbound I-494. At 10 p.m. Aug. 11, westbound I-494 between Rockford Road and I-94 will be reduced to a single lane. All lanes will reopen by 7 a.m. the following morning.

On the same day and same time, eastbound I-494 between Bass Lake Road and I-94 will be reduced to a single lane. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. the following morning.

Additionally, beginning at 10 p.m., Friday, Aug 15, northbound I-494 between Rockford Road and Schmidt Lake Road will be reduced to a single lane. The road will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18.

The closures are necessary so crews can remove guardrails and construct concrete barriers along the interstate, and repair the I-494 bridge over Schmidt Lake Road.

Motorists are advised to drive carefully through the work zone and to watch for slow moving construction vehicles.

For more information, or to sign up for e-mail project updates, visit the MnDOT project website at mndot.gov/metro/projects/i494plymouth/

For real-time travel information anywhere in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.org or dial 511.