Nips' Conniptions

There are two main Interstate highways that service the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Each of these branch out to provide inter- and intra-city transit. The traffic of Minneapolis is primarily fed by I-35W from the north and south, I-94 from the east and northwest, and finally I-394, a shunt trunk line, to the west. Other interstates in the area, including I-494 and I-694 act as bypasses and largely serve suburban motorists. This leaves the city of Minneapolis, proper, with 3 Interstates. It has been well documented that we are currently just shy of that number, following an abrupt "correction" caused by intensely (INTENSELY?) hot 90 degree weather... apparently. Life goes on sans-bridge. Interestingly, today a fuel tanker truck carrying a 8000 gallon load of gasoline spontaneously rolled off of an onramp at the junction of I-394 and I-94, a very short distance from the Lowry Tunnel - commonly known as "The Bottleneck." In one fell swoop, and at 100 gallons of unleaded gasoline a minute, the hapless trucker shut down both of the remaining Interstates for the duration of the day. It should be noted that hazmat vehicles are not allowed through the tunnel, so... how, sir, did you find yourself in this predicament? Workers struggled to catch the petroleum product by blasting it through the labyrinthine storm sewers under the city until it escaped 10 feet away from a 35W bridge construction site badly in need of an exorcism.

Traffic, as you would imagine was snarled up on all of the back roads during rush hour. It really brightened up my cold, damp walk home from work. Suckers.

Posted by ndNips on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 10:33 PM | Permalink