Traffic Made Simple… Not!

Most of the time I’m a simple driver: I drive around Hudson for errands, to Woodbury for work or dinner and occasionally to Maplewood Mall and the Halloween store. Lately, however, I’ve been getting a good dose of traffic that “simple” just doesn’t cover. 

When the Stillwater Lift Bridge closed for flooding concerns earlier this year, traffic coming and going through downtown Hudson somewhat mucked up my commute. It wasn’t so much the amount of traffic that bothered me; the drivers who were frustrated and forced to go out of their way did. I-94 was busier, and many people had to take the Hudson downtown on and off ramps, making the Hudson bridge somewhat tricky to maneuver. Now we’re that if the Minnesota government shut down occurs, it could happen again. That’s OK; at least I know it can be done. 

When the at the I-94 Exit 3 a couple of weeks ago, I barely missed out on the commuter fun. I didn’t fully escape it though since Exit 3 is near my house, and the “large bump” catches many unaware drivers. Generally, the cars don’t make much noise going over it but in the middle of the night truckers race toward the truck stop at Exit 4 and their trailers can take a good bounce. That is definitely getting old. 

Here’s one I didn’t realize until just this past week. The 4:30 p.m. commute is different from the 5 p.m. When I leave work at 4:30, the congestion lasts just from the I-94 and 494/694 interchange to about Woodbury Drive. A simple 30-minute schedule change meant leaving work later, and I entered into the world of the 5 p.m. Super Commuters. Some are patient, not all are kind, but it sent my 20-minute drive to 30 minutes and I felt late getting home. We all know who we are, and either commuter time slot can be hazardous or a breeze depending on whether or not your house is on fire. 

This past Thursday night really opened my eyes. Minneapolis can be quite a nightmare when you throw in road construction and many one-way streets. I needed to drive from Hudson to Target Center (something I generally take a pass on) so we left at 6 p.m. I found an online map with directions, and thought it would be all right since I’d always done pretty well with directions in the past. What I didn’t realize was that while commuter traffic moved eastbound until the Midway area, there was also a quick change of direction to westbound from that point forward. My grandbaby and I dropped off her parents at Target Center in well enough time, but getting back to Hudson was something altogether different. I’m still not sure how we got back on I-94 and out of Minneapolis, but I think we went through the Lowry Tunnel, which at least entertained the baby. I was just “a bit” tense all the way to White Bear Avenue. If that was not enough, we still had to go back to pick them up about 11 p.m. Just let your imaginations run wild with that. 

So, how is your drive to the cities?