A typical rush hour turned into a headache for commuters on eastbound I-94 when two vehicles collided in the left lanes near Fairview Avenue just after 8 a.m. With two lanes blocked, traffic stacked up quickly and came to a halt as far back at Cedar Avenue. That crash cleared about 15 minutes ago, but traffic is still crammed as far back as the Lowry Hill Tunnel.

In the northeast metro, a pair of wrecks gummed up the drive on eastbound 694 from Century Avenue past the mishaps at Stillwater Blvd. and 40th Street in Oakdale. Traffic at this hour is still tight along that stretch.

Nobody was complaining too loudly on northbound Hwy. 169, which moved very well all morning, and northbound 35W was not too bad from County Road 42 up to 494. A late rush hour wreck at 46th Street allowed bumper to bumper conditons to develop from Diamond Lake Road into downtown Minneapolis.

Northbound Cedar Avenue was busier than normal between 7 and 8:30 a.m., with speeds below the posted between County Road 38 and 494. Road work is in progress near the Mall of America so look for lane shifts and possible delays.

Our eyes now are on the area of Cedar Avenue around Hwy. 13 and Diffley Road. That is where heavy traffic is expected as the new outlet mall opens at 10 a.m. Right now, traffic looks good there.

A few delays for Northstar riders as trains ran on the outbound tracks between Elk River and Ramsey. At least one run was 15 minutes late arriving at Target Field.