Police and tow trucks were put through their paces Wednesday morning as snow made for slick roads and scores of crashes.
The early morning snow sent vehicle skidding into guard rails, cable medians and into each other with the worst of the crashes in the southwest and south metro. But even commuters in the northeast metro encountered snarls.
Among the worst wrecks occurred on the Crosstown at 34th Avenue. The eastbound lanes were blocked with a multi-car crash. That was just one of many on the Crosstown, which at times resembled a demolition derby between Xerxes Avenue and 43rd Avenue.
Icy conditions forced the State Patrol and MnDOT to reduce northbound Hwy. 169 to a single lane just after 6 a.m. when three separate crashes between Canterbury Road and the Bloomington Ferry Bridge blocked traffic.
At 9 a.m., MnDOT was reporting 14 active crashes on metro area roads. There were several other additional crashes.
Weather was not having much impact on public transit. Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said buses and trains were running on time without incident.
At the airport, the weather was not having much impact and security lines were moving quickly, said Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the MSP Airport.
The slow going is likely to persist for the next several hours as snow continues to fall.
