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The Drive: A few places are picking up the pace in the morning commute

In some areas of the metro, traffic is starting to loosen up and return to more normal rush hour conditions. That includes Hwy. 10 in both directions between Hwy. 169 and University Avenue.

By Tim Harlow

March 15, 2013 at 10:18AM

Commuters made their way to and from downtown in the early rush hour, Thursday, March 14, 2013. (Dml - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In some areas of the metro, traffic is starting to loosen up and return to more normal rush hour conditions. That includes Hwy. 10 in both directions between Hwy. 169 and University Avenue.

Things are not bad on southbound 494 from 94 down to 394, a drive you can make in 15 minutes.

On eastbound 394, it's 26 minutes from Hwy. 169 over to the intersection with 94.

That's the good news. Other routes remain extremely heavy and slow.

Those are:

Southbound 35W from 95th Avenue to Hwy. 280. That is about 80 minutes. Reports are coming in of a rollover crash at 95th Avenue.

A stall is blocking the left lane on northbound 169 at Bren Road. Plan on 30 minutes from Canterbury Road.

Westbound 94 is 2 hours from the Wisconsin line over to Marion Street. Ahead, things loosen a bit from Dale Street over to Hwy. 280.

Westbound 494 is 52 minutes from Hwy. 110 to Hwy. 110. Eastbound is 25 minutes.

I-694 is quite jammed from 494 to 35W in both directions.

Northbound 35W is 30 to 35 minutes from the Crosstown to downtown Minneapolis.

about the writer

Tim Harlow

Reporter

Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather.