Busy construction year lies ahead.

Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff

Each December, the Finance & Commerce staff looks ahead to the major projects that will dominate headlines in the coming year. In the past, we've struggled to narrow the list down to 10. This year, we realized it's impossible. As the second-longest economic expansion on record continues, there are just too many big projects in the works worth highlighting.

This Wednesday and Thursday, we're reviewing 16 of the big developments, from public infrastructure to downtown towers to entire suburban neighborhoods, that we'll be watching closely in 2019.

35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown

Size: A 2.5-mile stretch of Interstate 35W between 43rd Street and 15th Street in Minneapolis

Cost: $239 million

Owner/developer: Minnesota Department of Transportation

Expected completion: Fall 2021

Description: Hunker down, Twin Cities commuters. The massive overhaul of Interstate 35W on a 2.5-mile stretch between downtown Minneapolis and Highway 62 is still nearly three years away from completion.

The good news is that the project is going according to plan and some key milestones are coming up in 2019, MnDOT officials said. A joint venture of Burnsville-based Ames Construction, Black River Falls, Wisconsin-based Lunda and Shafer, Minnesota-based Shafer Contracting is overseeing construction.

During the winter, crews will stay busy with a lot of bridges, retaining walls and other scopes of work, said Dave Aeikens, MnDOT's spokesman for the "35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown" project.

A key project milestone is coming in mid-June, when the 28th Street bridge over I-35W reopens to traffic, he said. In fall 2019, a third southbound lane will open in the project area, Aeikens said.

The scope of work includes 18 new bridges, rehab of four other bridges, new pavement, and construction of new MnPASS lanes in the project area.

Workers will also build a transit station at I-35W and Lake Street for the $150 millionOrange Line, a 17-mile bus rapid transit line that will link downtown Minneapolis with Burnsville.

Crews will convert a "dynamic shoulder lane"on northbound I-35Wto a permanent MnPASS toll lane, and construct a new MnPASS lane on southbound I-35W between 26th Street and 46th Street, among other project duties.A dynamic shoulder lane is a shoulder that can be used by traffic only during peak travel hours, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

The Dayton's Project

Address: 700 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

Size: 1.3 million square feet

Cost: $277 million

Owner: 601w Cos.

Expected...