Tuesday's morning rush hour had a bit of drama for commuters on I-694 and I-94 in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis.

Around 6:45 a.m., a motorist brandished a gun and threatened another driver near Hemlock Lane in Maple Grove. The gun-toting driver continued east on 694, then south on I-94 where the State Patrol executed a "high risk" traffic stop at Olson Hwy. The incident had both lanes of 94 blocked at Olson Hwy. for a brief time, which had traffic stopped at Broadway.

As far as traffic was concerned, westbound 94 at Snelling seemed to be the most problematic location with two separate crashes knotting up traffic. That kept the trip from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis slower than usual, with 15 to 18 minutes needed for most of the rush.

Traffic was amazingly smooth through the I-35 work zone in Lakeville. Drivers experienced only minor setbacks between County 70 and County 50. That project is set to wrap up by next week. Let's hope so!.

A smattering of stalls and crashes created pockets of congestion on busy routes but nothing that caused big delays. For the most part, however, traffic cruised along at or near the posted speeds.

Transit operators reported no delays or problems on buses or trains.

At this hour, look for some sluggish conditions on eastbound 94 at Hwy. 241. One lane is closed for some midday road work.