Accidents involving 2 buses slow traffic on I-35W in Minneapolis

Traffic on southbound Interstate Hwy. 35W from downtown Minneapolis to Crosstown Hwy. 62 was snarled.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune Staff Writer

Last update: November 18, 2008 - 9:06 AM

Traffic on southbound Interstate Hwy. 35W from downtown Minneapolis to the Crosstown Hwy. 62 was snarled for about an hour this morning after three separate crashes involving two Minnesota Valley Transit Authority buses, a State Patrol squad and two other vehicles.

Two vehicles collided about 7:16 a.m. on southbound I-35W to go eastbound on Hwy. 62. While partially blocking the lane, a Minnesota Valley Transit Authority bus attempted to get by on the shoulder, but struck one of the vehicles, a spokesman for the Regional Traffic Management Center in Roseville said.

A state trooper arrived on the scene. A second MVTA bus tried to get past the scene and clipped the state trooper’s squad knocking off its mirror, said spokesman Todd Heininger.

Traffic was stacked up from the accident to near Lake Street and 35th Street, but was starting to loosen up around 8:25 a.m., Heininger said.

It was not clear if there were any passengers on the buses or if anyone was injured. A call to the bus company was not immediately returned.