A dusting of snow made roads wet and slippery leading to a number of spinouts and crashes that slowed the morning commute.
Northbound Hwy. 169 got plugged up early with a stall and crash at Anderson Lakes Pkwy. and the segment from Canterbury Road to 494 never loosened up. At present, traffic is still creeping along. Southbound drivers should be on the lookout for a big crash reported near Marystown Road.
Northbound Cedar Avenue saw backups for miles as traffic inched along from County 42 up to the Crosstown. At present that trip is at 20 minutes.
Icy contions that developed shortly after 8 a.m. led to a trio of mishaps on I-494 in the vicinity of Hwy. 212 and Valley View Road. Those crashes are still affecting traffic in both directions.
On a lighter note, Metro Transit reported no delays or problems on the Northstar Commuter line. All trains ran on schedule. On Tuesday, four of the five runs were cancelled between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis. Buses filled in.
At 9 a.m., most north metro routes have returned to normal levels of traffic and things are moving swiftly.
Westbound 94 from Manning Avenue to Hwy. 280 is still running at 25 minutes. Look for tight conditions approaching 11th Street in downtown Minneapolis.
Both directions of the Crosstown are busy from Cedar Avenue to Hwy. 100, so plan on 15 minutes through there.
