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Crashes, Spinouts & Gridlock For Commuters, Fans

By Caroline Lowe, WCCO-TV

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Several jack-knifed semi-trucks forced a stretch of Interstate 94 in St. Joseph to be shut down for several hours Monday afternoon.

On Twin Cities roads, rush hour got off to a very slow and early start Monday afternoon. Traffic crawled on freeways and city streets as another round of snow created clogged driving conditions all over the metro area.

There were crashes, stalled cars, spinouts and plenty of vehicles in the ditch.

Congestion worsened as the work day ended and more than 80,000 people headed into the cities for the Vikings game in Minneapolis and the Wild's game across the river in St. Paul.

"This is ridiculous," said Kimberly Stiele, a driver from Chanhassen. "It's been at least 30 minutes getting out of the city."

A father driving his children to the football game was keeping his cool.

"What do you think it is going to do when there is 6 inches of snow on the ground? You can live your life at 10 miles an hour, you'll be OK," said Tim Hoagland of Apple Valley.

Deteriorating weather conditions prompted transportation officials to advise against any travel in the metro area Monday evening as crews cleared snow and laid down salt on the slippery streets.

The gridlock tested the patience of a lot of drivers who were anxious to get home or finish their holiday shopping.

A surprisingly cheerful man from Minneapolis took the slow commute in stride.

"It is moving slow but if you know how to navigate your way through you can get through," said Clinton Scott. "Be patient, take the back roads and you will get where you are going"

MnDOT crews will be out all Monday night clearing the road. Some drivers have been working 20 days in row. MnDOT's advice for your morning commute is to give yourself some extra time to get to work.

Get a look at conditions before heading out by checking the live maps, routes and cameras on WCCO.COM.

WCCO-TV's Caroline Lowe Reports

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