Two early incidents gummed up traffic on northbound 35W for most of the rush hour. Traffic is just now starting to loosen after a pedestrian was hit on the 35MPH curve just after 6 a.m. About the same time, a crash in the back up occurred at Franklin Avenue.
The State Patrol had one lane shut down for about 45 minutes, and that was long enough to create a traffic jam the grew as the morning went on. Drive times from the Crosstown to downtown Minneapolis stayed in the 20-minute range until well after 8 a.m.
At present, that trip is down to 9 minutes, but there is a stall that just cleared at 42nd Street, so expect a pocket of slow and go traffic approaching.
Eastbound 94 had heavy traffic from Hwy. 101 to the Fish Lake Split during the 7 a.m. hour, but things are now flowing freely through Rogers and Maple Grove at this hour.
A crash on the left shoulder of eastbound 394 is bogging down the drive from General Mills Blvd. to Hwy. 100 where the State Patrol is on the scene of a wreck in the right lane.
Today, MnDOT gets to work on building a noise and retaining wall on southbound 35E in Little Canada. Here are the specifics from the Minnesota Department of Transportation:
Motorists will experience delays and a detour to southbound Interstate 35E as the ramp from Little Canada Road closes at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday, March 2.
In addition, the right lane of southbound I-35E from the eastbound I-694 ramp to Highway 36 will close (southbound I-35E will maintain three lanes of traffic at this time).
