Will evening rush hour gridlock in downtown Mpls. persist until after Super Bowl?

Eight blocks, 45 minutes. That's how long it took some buses to make their way along Marquette Avenue during the peak of Wednesday's evening rush hour in downtown Minneapolis.

At 5 p.m., buses inched their way along the busy corridor prompting some to wonder if that will become the normal commute as Super Bowl festivities get under way.

Officially events don't start until Friday, but bus riders are being warned to prepare for delays and adjust their travel plans accordingly.

Maple Grove Transit said several of its buses had trouble getting to the route starting point at 10th Street and 2nd Avenue S., which is not far from the Minneapolis Convention Center where the Super Bowl Experience is taking place and some streets are shut down.

City officials said the jam-up resulted from Super Bowl prep work and that crews removing snow "improperly obstructed street travel lanes in a few locations."

Spokesman Casper Hill said the Public Works Department cleared the roads after becoming aware of the gridlock.

Thursday didn't go much better for some riders.

"This is just as bad as yesterday," said Daniel Ferrara. "My bus is running over an hour late easy. I take the 470 to Eagan and after waiting 40 minutes for it on Marquette I got the driver that is one or two buses behind the usual bus I take."

Others are dreading how their commute will play out Friday and all next week.

"The bus ride from 6th & Marquette at 4:30pm took 40 minutes to get to 35W South, so I guess 5 minutes were shaved off from yesterday," said Christa Nelson. "Not looking forward to the commute tomorrow or next week."

Maple Grove Transit authorities said they will keep an eye on the situation and look for potential solutions.

"However, the range of options is extremely limited," the agency said. "Riders should be prepared for these potential delays and adjust their travel plans accordingly."

From Wednesday through Feb. 2, the agency will run an early trip at 1:16 p.m. on routes 781 and 785 for commuters who want to get out of downtown ahead of rush hour and miss events associated with the Bold North Festival.

Here is what other riders are saying:

@MetroTransitMN What is being done about the crippling bus traffic in downtown Minneapolis? Buses have been running at least an hour late the last several days. My 40 min commute now takes 2 hours.
— Fizzwizz (@Fizzwizz2) January 26, 2018

Listen, I'm not endorsing drinking your problems, but after an awful 1hr 30min commute (@metrotransit #thatsmyt!), stove top hot chocolate w/@Skaalvenn and @InsightBrewing is hitting the spot.
— Alcohol by Volume (@AlcoholbyVoluMN) January 26, 2018

Something needs to coordinated between the @CityMinneapolis @MetroTransitMN @MVTATransit and whoever else this next week. The buses downtown have been horrendous. Ridiculous. More buses or something. Coordinate the lights so buses aren’t sitting at one light for 20 minutes.
— Josh (@PelsRenovation) January 25, 2018