Today's rush hour was a breeze compared to what Thursday's and Friday's might look like as an early whopper of a snow and rain event is poised to move into the metro.
Dry roads and light traffic volumes allowed commuters to sail right along. Of course, no commute is ever perfect.
Motorists on northbound 35W were using their brakes as three separate crashes in the area from 46th Street and Lake Street led to delays. For most of the rush, the trip from Crosstown to downtown Minneapolis was averaging 15 minutes. Still, not bad compared to what it could be when mishaps like that happen.
Currently we have a fourth crash at Lake Street with a piece of metal and two vehicles blocking the left lane.
Debris briefly blocked the eastbound lanes of 494 at Penn Avenue around 7:50 a.m. and that combined with the sun-up slow down led to a 13-minute trip from Hwy. 169 to 35W.
East metro commuters had no issues to deal with while west metro drivers sailed right along.
In the south, both 35W and Cedar held at near the posted speeds for a majority of the rush. North metro drivers also had no problems or hassles to deal with aside from the minor slow downs along 694 between Boone Avenue and 35W.
I'll be back tomorrow with live traffic reports. Be sure to check in before heading out as freezing rain and snow could pose a challenge.
