The early part of the Friday morning rush hour served up the most drama in the form of a car fire and a fiery crash in East Bethel. The latter portion of the rush was tame.
A car burst into flames on southbound I-35W at County Road C in Roseville around 6 a.m. took out the left lane for about 30 minutes, but being it was so early in the commute the incident didn't cause much of a traffic disruption.
Further north, and at about the same time, a firey crash led to the closure of southbound Hwy. 65 at Viking Blvd. The wreck to the south at 187th Lane reportedly involved a semitrailer truck. The road was closed for nearly 90 minutes and traffic was detoured onto Viking Blvd. in East Bethel.
The State Patrol returned to 35W and County Road C around 8 a.m. for a left-lane blocking crash that was short-lived. That only created a minor back up for commuters in New Brighton and Roseville.
A third car fire was reported on northbound 35W at Johnson Street. That was about the end of the problems on the roads as Friday's rush shaped up to be pretty decent.
Look out for a left lane closure on eastbound Hwy. 212 at Shady Oak Road. Bridge work will have the highway down to a single lane until 4 p.m. Friday. Also look for flaggers directing traffic on Hwy. 101 between downtown Shakopee and Hwy. 61, also related to a construction project.
