It was a maddening Monday for commuters as rain and a plethora of crashes led to lengthy drive times.

Among the worst crashes was on westbound I-94 at the confluence of Hwy. 52 and 35E in downtown St. Paul. That brought westbound traffic to a halt as far back as McKnight Road during the 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. period. A secondary wreck at Earl Street added to the woes, which are just now starting to abate.

A double lane blocking wreck late in the rush brought southbound Hwy. 100 to its knees. Two lanes are still out of service at Excelsior Blvd. with the line up forming at Hwy. 55.

Northbound 35W suffers from 46th Street past a crash under the Franklin Avenue bridge. Current drive time from Crosstown to downtown Minneapolis is at 18 minutes.

We have a number of other active crashes at 9 a.m., and they are creating delays. Here is where you'll find them:

  • Westbound 494 at Flying Cloud Drive in Eden Prairie
  • Southbound Hwy. 100 at Duluth Street. That is in addition to the one ahead at Excelsior Blvd.
  • Eastbound Crosstown at Hwy. 100 in Edina
  • Eastbound 494 at West Bush Lake Road in Bloomington
  • Southbound 35W at 95th Avenue and ahead at Hwy. 10
  • Westbound 394 at Louisiana Avenue
  • Southbound 35W at 47th Street in Minneapolis

It's safe to say that today's rush will extend well beyond the typical 9 a.m. end.

The early portion of the rush was marred by rain and a spinout on Hwy. 13 at Silver Bell Road. That was the first of more than 20 crashes reported Monday morning.

Where we did not have crashes, congestion slowed commuters down. We saw heavy and slow conditions on northbound Hwy. 61 from Newport up to I-94 in St. Paul and westbound 494 was thick from Lake Road in Woodbury over to 35E in Mendota Heights. Drive times on major routes were much longer than normal.

No problems reported today on tranist buses or trains.