Tuesday's morning rush was definitely not as smooth as President's Day Monday, and that was most evident on southbound Hwy. 169.

A couple of crashes and a stalled vehicle kept the southbound lanes crowded and stagnant during the middle of the rush. That in turn led to increased travel times with the trip from Hwy. 610 to I-394 taking 27 minutes between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m.

Traffic is starting to recover now that all three incidents have cleared.

The morning rush ends with a clear slate now that a wreck on eastbound 94 at Dale Street has cleared. Do look for a First Unit on the ramp to Marion Street, however.

We still have pockets of congestion, including on northbound I-35W from the Crosstown to Franklin Avenue.

The day began with a crash that blocked three lanes of eastbound I-94 at Hwy. 280 just after 5:30 a.m. Hats off to the State Patrol and tows that clean that up fast and kept a traffic snarl from forming.

Southbound Hwy. 100 saw some aggravation between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m. when a crash involving a semitrailer truck and a couple vehicles took out the left lane at Excelsior Blvd. That caused traffic to stack up back to near Hwy. 55.

On the rails today, police put out a stern warning to students at the U of M to no push or pretend to push others in front of Green Line trains. The admonition passed on by the request of Metro Transit police said the behavior is occurring on Thursdays through Saturday nights. It's a "very bad idea" police said, and those who are caught doing it face a hefty fine and possible jail time, an alert from the U said.