An ill-timed crash on southbound 35W on the Mississippi River Bridge around 7:30 a.m. plugged traffic from Washington Avenue back to the Hwy. 36 interchange. That combined with a crash earlier at County Road E2 made for a 1 hour drive from the Forest Lake Split to downtown Minneapolis.

At this hour, things are just starting to thin out, but the commute is still slow from Roseville to Minneapolis with 40 minutes needed from Hwy. 10 to Washington Avenue.

Westbound 94 is bogged down from Hwy. 280 to Portland Avenue. A stall creating the tieup at 3rd Avenue has been removed. It's 15 minutes into downtown from 280.

Westbound Hwy. 36 did not move swiftly during the heart of the rush. The drive was 20 minutes or more from Hwy. 61 to 35W for most of the rush, but things are a tiny bit better now. That trip will take 17 minutes.

Southbound 35E from the Forest Lake Split to downtown St. Paul flowed well for the most part, but a late-morning crash at Larpenteur Avenue was adding some time to the drive.

Commuters in the south metro experienced few difficulties on 35W and Cedar Avenue, although we did have a bear spotted around 6 a.m. in the vicinity of Diffley Road. No word if the guy got any good food.

Eastbound 94 and southbound 494 in the north and west metro respectively held up well with just minor delays. Meanwhile, a crash on the Wakota Bridge briefly tangled traffic in Newport.

At current, westbound 94 is sluggish from Cedar Avenue to the Lowry Tunnel due to an earlier stalled vehicle at 3rd Avenue.

That's if for this morning. I'll be back Wednesday with more traffic reports. Make it a good day.