MnDOT pauses London Road construction for Grandma's Marathon weekend
MnDOT pulled traffic control off London Road for Grandma’s Marathon, but side streets and shoulder closures stayed in place through June 12.
Duluth got a brief break on one of its busiest corridors as MnDOT cleared traffic control from Highway 61 and London Road for Grandma’s Marathon weekend, easing a construction zone that had already been redirecting daily travel since late April.
The pause mattered because London Road is one of the main east-side arteries into and out of downtown. With detour signs and lane closures removed for the marathon window, the move opened a more direct path for race-day traffic, spectators, and the businesses that depend on steady movement between East Duluth, downtown, and the lakefront. Grandma’s Marathon officials have said that partnership with MnDOT is crucial because the weekend draws large crowds and depends on keeping those corridors moving.
The relief was not a full return to normal. Some lane shifts and shoulder closures remained in place through June 12 while crews finished placing topsoil and sod, leaving drivers with only partial access even during the pause. For people who use London Road every day, that meant the corridor looked less barricaded for the marathon, but the work zone still shaped how traffic flowed along the east side.
The bigger changes were still ahead. After the marathon, the project was set to resume with more permanent traffic control shifts that would keep northbound traffic north of 40th Avenue East moving, send southbound drivers onto Superior Street, and route truck traffic even farther out of the way through 21st Avenue East. The project is not just resurfacing, either. MnDOT’s work includes roundabout construction, sidewalk improvements, and resurfacing, making it a larger reconfiguration of a key travel route rather than a simple mill-and-overlay job.
The temporary pause offered Duluth a useful reprieve during one of the city’s signature weekends, but it also underscored how long the disruption will last. The construction timeline is expected to run into the fall, meaning the marathon break was only a short pause in a much longer reshaping of how people, cars, and trucks move through East Duluth.
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