The drive to work was a painful experience for many on Monday as lingering patches of ice were enough to slow down traffic.
Some of the worst drives were on eastbound 94 from Albertville to Maple Grove where that trip was consistenlty taking 30 to 45 minutes all morning.
In the east metro, 94 from Hudson to Minneapolis was nearly an hour or more and northbound 35E crawled along from County 42 to downtown St. Paul.
It was no picnic on 494 in the west metro either. In fact, no major route were great as slowdowns made for long travel times. Throw in a handful of spinouts and crashes and you had the makings for a long long rush.
Train riders didn't fare much better. Heavy rail traffic in the Fridley yards led to hour delays for Northstar Commuter line riders. Buses were dispatched to fill in for trains in Ramsey, Anoka and Elk River.
Traffic continues to struggle at this hour. Here are the current wrecks and incidents to dodge:
- Northbound Hwy. 36 at 36th Street in St. Louis Park
- Westbound 94 just outside the north end of the Lowry Hill Tunnel. A stall is on the left shoulder.
- Westbound 494 at Hwy. 7 in Minnetonka. The left shoulder is blocked
- The ramp from westbound 494 to southbound Cedar Avenue by the Mall of America is closed for a crash.
A reminder that Green Line light-rail line testing begins today. Be on the lookout for trains along University Avenue and downtown St. Paul.
