Airport noise near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has shifted to different neighborhoods since Aug. 18, during replacement of pavement on one of the runways. Starting soon, though, noise should return to the old patterns — better for some, worse for others.

It's the North Parallel Runway 12L/30R that's been under construction, and when the Federal Aviation Administration’s completes a flight check of the runway’s instrument landing system, next week, runway use and the resulting flight patterns will return to pre-construction conditions, officials said.

During the work, air traffic has been redirected onto the airport’s three remaining runways, resulting in altered flight patterns and noise distribution around the airport.

Return to normal should  mean less noise in St. Paul, Eagan and parts of Minneapolis, but more in south Minneapolis.

Officials said this was the last significant project in the $3.1 billion MSP 2010 expansion program. Now, all  runway pavement has been replaced and a new 8,000-foot runway developed, which should prove ample for decades.